Mutilation
by White Angel Chan
Summary: After Duelist Kingdom. Unable to use the power of the millennium eye, Yami Bakura decides to "install it", but it's Ryou who suffers...
1. The Deed

Hello people! White Angel here. It's my first fic, so be kind. I switch POV a lot, so I will put the POV whenever it changes.  
  
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Summary:  
  
Rated PG-13 for bloodshed and maybe a little swearing. After Duelist Kingdom. Unable to use the power of the millennium eye, Yami Bakura decides to "install it", but it is the normal Bakura who suffers. Now Bakura (Ryou) is forced to hide his mutilation, and on top of that, he cannot control the eye's power and Yami Bakura is as cold as ever…  
  
  
  
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3rd person  
  
Yami Bakura growled in frustration. Try as he might, he could not tap into the power of the millennium eye. All that work to get it and now he couldn't even use it. He cursed out loud.  
  
"What am I doing wrong?" he asked himself. He rolled the small orb between his fingers, contemplating his next move. He had been hoping that he would not have to resort to this, but there seemed to be no other way. If he could not use its magic by simply owning it, he would have to make the same sacrifice that Pegasus did, though it really wouldn't be his sacrifice, now would it? No amount of pain was going to keep him from that power. He considered separating from his other and doing the procedure directly to him, but no. Even a weakling like Ryou might but up a fight for this. No, it was better to skip the struggle than to risk it. His mind was made up.  
  
Slowly, he reached for his blade…  
  
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Ryou  
  
The first thing I noticed upon waking up was the pain. Ever since my yami returned, I have often woken up in pain, either from Yami Bakura pushing my body past its natural limits or direct abuse. But this was different. The pain was present, but dulled. Like when you go to the dentist and he numbs you up. You know it should hurt much more than it does.  
  
I at first assumed that Yami Bakura had caused me some kind of head injury. I was dizzy and my vision was impaired. I couldn't see through my left eye at all. I raised my hand to feel if it was swollen shut, when I stopped. My hand was covered in blood. For the first time, I took a good look around (at least as good as I could).  
  
There was blood everywhere. It stained my clothes. Both of my hands were dark and sticky with it. There was a puddle of blood on the floor where my head had been. A discarded knife a few feet away (also bloody) appeared to be the cause.  
  
I was panicking. What had he done now? The blood was mostly dry. There was no telling how long I had been lying there. I finally reached up to feel my head for the wound my yami had inflicted upon me. I expected to find a gash or something similar.  
  
I certainly did not expect to feel cold metal where my left eye had been…  
  
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Yeah, I'm a sick individual. Everything happens to poor Ryou, doesn't it? Next chapter up soon. Please R&R. 


	2. Discovery

Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh…  
  
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I needed a mirror. I needed to see what he had done to me. My clouded mind tried to remember where one was. The bathroom! I tried to get up, but fell to my knees. My head was spinning from shock and loss of blood. After two more unsuccessful tries, I managed to stay on my feet long enough to reach the bathroom. I was afraid to look in the mirror once I got there. I knew that an unpleasant image awaited me. Summoning up my courage, I looked into the mirror.  
  
I almost collapsed from the sight. A familiar golden eye gazed back at me. The millennium eye! But how? This had been Pegasus's. Then I realized. Pegasus had died shortly after the Duelist Kingdom finals. The final match between Yugi and Pegasus (which I couldn't remember seeing or even where I was at the time, for that matter) had left the man weak, so Yugi said. This would have been the perfect opportunity for my yami. This was about the time that he had revealed himself to me again. But that would mean…oh, God. I had killed Pegasus. Even though it hadn't really been me, my hands had done the task. My hands, my body, had been used to take another life, even if it was a despicable man like Pegasus. Oh, God, I was a murderer…  
  
My brain was having trouble processing all this. It was as if a thick fog had wrapped itself around my mind. I stared blankly at my reflection. The haunting eye stared right back. It would forever remind me of the sin I had been used to commit. Even if you paid no attention to the eye, I looked a fright. Dried blood stained my face and my hair. The area around my new eye was swollen, though not as much as I would have expected it to be. The millennium eye must have had some power that lessened the damage caused by putting it in. That would explain the dulled pain. But it did not seem to clear my mind any. How much blood had I lost? The thought crossed my mind that I should call a doctor.  
  
You will do no such thing came my yami's harsh voice from within my mind. In my current state it took a minute to recognize what it was. I worked too hard for that item to risk losing it now.  
  
"But Yami, it will do you no good if I die now," I said out loud. The fact that I could have just thought the reply did not register.  
  
You'll live… he said, almost regretfully.  
  
"But Yami, I…"  
  
He cut me off angrily. Think, boy! What will happen when they see the well-known false eye of the recently murdered Pegasus, especially when you were seen at Duelist Kingdom? Do you think they will not make a connection? So what if it wasn't really you that did it? Do you think they will care? Tell them that your dark side made you do it and they will laugh at you as they lock you up. You would lose everything, not to mention what I would do to you. I will hear no more of it! he said before closing his thoughts to me again and leaving me alone.  
  
I didn't want to be alone like this. Even the company of my abusive dark half was better than being scared and alone. But Yami Bakura was right. If anyone saw me like this, I would be blamed for Pegasus's death. I couldn't face my friends or my father. Yugi was the only one who would understand my situation, and I was forbidden my yami to associate with him. Yami Bakura was still weak from his last encounter with Yugi's dark side, and he didn't want his existence to be known yet. He was vulnerable. But he promised me, incase I should decide to turn against him, that before Yami Yugi ever got a chance to take advantage of his weakened state, he would kill me for my treachery. I did not take his threats lightly.  
  
I lowered my head to wash my face in the sink. Mistake. The sudden movement caused my head to spin. In reaction, I quickly lifted my head back up. Mistake #2. The room swirled around me and I fell against the wall and sank to the floor. I'm not sure if I passed out for a moment or two or if I simply spaced out. Either way it took a few minutes for me remember where I was and what had happened when I came back to reality.  
  
I crawled over to the bathtub. I had to get clean. I didn't really care about the mess I had left in the den where I woke up or anywhere else it may have gotten. I just had to wash myself off. I didn't feel like I had the strength to stand up for a shower, so I ran the bath water.  
  
Lying in the warm water helped me relax. I scrubbed the blood off my face (the area around the millennium eye was extremely sensitive), hands, and areas where it had soaked through my clothes, which were now ruined. My favorite sweater, too. But I had other concerns. I had to run fresh water before I could even attempt to clean my hair. There was so much blood…  
  
I dressed and staggered to my room. I would worry about the mess later. I needed sleep. I would just rest a few hours. I think I was out before my head even reached the pillow.  
  
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It's mostly just Ryou POV right now, but I will move on to others in future chapters. R&R please. Constructive criticism accepted but no flames. 


	3. Yami Bakura

White Angel again.  
  
Oh! Wonderful reviews already. Awwww…I love you all. And you too Ryou, my inspiration.  
  
I'm hoping that this chapter answers some of the questions you might have had.  
  
Note: Pegasus didn't officially die in the show. It is just assumed he did. For the purposes of this fic, he's dead. More details in the story.  
  
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.  
  
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Yami Bakura  
  
I sensed Ryou dormant for quite some time. It was night, and my time to emerge. I was growing restless. I wanted to see if I could now get that eye to work properly now, but I couldn't do it if he wouldn't wake up. I needed his mind and body active for an accurate test. Though I could separate from him and form my own temporary body, I didn't like to in my current state. I was stronger when I kept in contact with Ryou. It was less of a drain on my energy. Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to use the eye. Since I don't have my own body, I could only use the millennium items (including my ring) properly through my other. But I could not awaken him from an internal approach, so I had to go the direct route.  
  
I summoned what little energy I had to create my false form. It was very tiring. I was already at a loss of patience with Ryou for forcing me to waste my energy like this.  
  
I looked down at him. He hadn't even bothered to cover himself with the blankets before going to sleep. I did not need to see my reflection to know I looked almost exactly like him. My form was created from his, right down to his frail frame and a false millennium ring hanging around my neck. Judging from the lack of vision in my left eye, it seemed that I had a false eye as well. Ryou really was a poor host. He provided me no strengths, and cursed me with his weaknesses.  
  
The millennium eye caught the light from moon and the streetlights outside the window. I had gone through so much trouble to get that, but to Ryou's credit, I couldn't have done it without him. He had gotten inside the castle on Duelist Kingdom. He had earned the trust of the other duelists, including Yugi, and so no one suspected him of anything. Innocent little Ryou…wouldn't hurt a fly…  
  
Yugi had known about me, but foolishly believed that I had been destroyed. Idiot. I have cheated death many times. The power of my millennium item has always saved me. The likes of him could never hope to defeat me. At least, not when I am at my full strength. Truth be told, I owed much of my ownership of the millennium eye to Yugi, too. He weakened Pegasus, giving me my chance, even in my limited power, to attack. I forced Ryou to go to Duelist Kingdom in my continuing search for the items and the power they possessed. I had originally been following Yugi's puzzle, but the eye was a welcomed surprise, an opportunity that I took advantage of. Ryou had not been expecting me, so his will had been easy to overcome. I make a habit of blocking him out when I am in control (I don't like him to know my business), so he remembers nothing of it. He doesn't know how I snuck up on the unsuspecting millionaire. He doesn't know about Pegasus foolishly dismissing me when I approached him. He didn't hear the scream as I knocked the man out and gouged out the millennium eye. That had been a most satisfying action. I am, after all, a thief. I had not done the action with the intention of murder, but I had done nothing to prevent it either. It was his own fault for taking me lightly. He bled to death from what I understand. It wouldn't surprise me. I knew from my own recent experience that a lot of blood can come from the loss of an eye. The power of the millennium eye had saved Pegasus when it was put in (it was the same with Ryou), but he was not so lucky when the power was removed.  
  
I left these memories behind and focused on the matter at hand: waking up my other. I snapped my fingers in front of his face. He didn't stir.  
  
"So lazy," I said. He was even weaker than I thought. All this for the loss of an eye and some blood. True, it had been a while since I had to worry about physical injuries. But still…This was just Ryou's weaknesses getting in my way again. I was growing angry.  
  
"I order you to awake now, you weak little worm!" I yelled. He didn't even flinch. Understandably, I lost my tolerance, and slapped him across his right cheek. A small groan escaped him, but that wasn't enough. I was mad now. I slapped him again, this time on his left side and harder. I had temporarily forgotten about the recent adjustment to that side. I am sure it was very painful, but I got the reaction I was looking for. Ryou screamed in pain and covered the injury with his hands. He curled up, whimpering and shaking, but he still did not wake. I growled in frustration. Fine! Let him sleep. I was satisfied with the pain I had inflicted upon him and felt like I had gotten my revenge, for now… He would feel that later, too. I could wait to test the eye.  
  
If I could not take over his body, I would simply use this temporary one until I ran out of energy. It would be daylight soon. It had been a while since I had seen the sun. I couldn't risk leaving the house, though. Maybe I would just relax and lie around. I took one last look at Ryou. He had calmed some and his hands had fallen away from his face. It was a strange site. His normal eye had been tearing. At the same time, the injury around the millennium eye had begun to bleed again, but only a little bit. The blood collected at the corners of the golden eye. It looked as if Ryou had been crying tears of blood…  
  
Humph. It was no matter to me. I left him for a more comfortable atmosphere. The red stains on the floor didn't faze me at all…  
  
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Well I hope that cleared some things up. Back to Ryou POV next chapter. As always R&R. More action in the next chapter, which will be up soon. I promise. 


	4. The Power of the Eye

White Angel here.  
  
Wow, I'm having fun with this… Angst, I love it. They early chapters were really about defining the plot and so on. Now we can get into some action. Heh, heh…  
  
{thoughts heard}  
  
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Ryou  
  
I spent the better part of two days in and out of consciousness. I was missing school now, and that was a concern (my dark half had mutilated me late Sat/early Sun. I first discovered it Sun. afternoon). Yami Bakura was not happy with me. He was eager to try out the powers of the eye. I tried to explain to him that I was too weak for him to be able to do much. He responded with harsh words and abuse. He was particularly fond of hitting me in the face. I supposed that he enjoyed watching me cower. Didn't he know that if he kept hitting me there that the eye would never heal? Maybe he did. Maybe that was his plan all along. Keep me suffering.  
  
He eventually let up when he tried to possess me and discovered that my body was every bit as uncooperative as I was. He didn't like it though. He seemed to think that it was MY fault I was hurt. He was restless and decided use his false form for a bit of mobility. He used his energy to create the body, and when it ran out, he returned to me for rest until he was strong enough to do it again. I had no problem with this. It gave me some time away from him.  
  
On one such occasion when he was wandering around, I found I had strength enough to get out of bed and move about. I quietly walked to my bedroom door and closed it. My yami was out there and I didn't want him to know I was awake. I went to the bathroom adjacent to my room (not the same one I was in earlier) and examined myself in the mirror. Seeing that eye gazing back at me from my reflection didn't get any easier. Yami Bakura had really done a number on me. My face was quite bruised and very sensitive. There was a little blood around the millennium eye which I gently washed away. Believe it or not, blood used to make me sick. That was before I met my yami. It's amazing how much I had grown used to it now.  
  
I walked over to my bedroom window and looked out. It was a beautiful day. From my vantage point, I could see over my neighbors' fence. They seemed to be having some kind of party or reunion. There were a lot of people. I was slightly curious about the goings on over there. I wondered if they were having fun. It had been so long since I had had fun.  
  
My face suddenly felt warm. I didn't think much of it at first. It was probably just the sunlight. Then it hit me.  
  
{Why did I come; I don't recognize him; did she announce her pregnancy; this fish is awful; that guy is really cute; I wonder if anyone will notice my haircut; it's so hot!}  
  
The voices came slow at first, but they quickly built up. I desperately looked around for their source. My head felt like it was going to explode. Where were these voices coming from? Why wouldn't they stop?  
  
{I wish Mom hadn't made me come; what time is it; there are too many people here…}  
  
I screamed and covered my ears. It didn't help any. I couldn't block them out. I fell to my knees and screamed again. Yami Bakura came running. He said something, but I couldn't distinguish his voice from the dozens of other voices. There seemed to be more voices now.  
  
{What's his problem; has he lost his mind; weakling; can he even hear me;}  
  
Voices. So many voices. I couldn't make any of them out anymore. They all mixed together into one screaming force. "Make them stop!" I yelled. "Make them stop!"  
  
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Yami Bakura  
  
I heard Ryou scream from his room. Good. If he was strong enough to scream then…  
  
Ryou cut off my thoughts with another scream. Something was wrong. My millennium items could have been in danger. I ran to his bedroom only to find him on his knees with his head in his hands, screaming at the top of his lungs. I looked around but couldn't find the source of his distress.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled at him. What was his problem? Had he lost his mind? Weakling…could he even hear me?  
  
"Make them stop!" he screamed. "Make them stop!"  
  
"Make who stop?" Ryou continued to cringe. I lost my tolerance and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. "What's your problem?!"  
  
He acted as if he didn't hear me, but instead of fighting me, he held on to me. He put his hands on my shoulders to balance himself. I was so shocked by his sudden bravery (he never dared to touch me before), that I didn't even think about punishing him for it. I let go of him. For the first time, Ryou looked up.  
  
He truly was a pathetic site. Black and blue and wet with tears. The expression on his face was desperate. He seemed to be pleading with me. What could have troubled him so that he looked to ME for help? Then I saw it. The millennium eye! It was glowing! Could Ryou have activated it? Was it possible?  
  
"Please…" he cried. "Make…them…stop…" He went limp and fell against me. As an involuntary reaction, I caught him. Ryou's head rolled around like a rag doll's. Frankly, I didn't know what to do with him. I was still in shock. What exactly had just happened? I realized that I was still holding him and I jumped back as if he were a snake. Without me to support him, he fell to the floor. The eye was no longer glowing.  
  
I regained myself. Well, it seemed that my other had accidentally tapped into the powers of the millennium eye. Apparently, he couldn't control it. They eye was a force that shouldn't be taken lightly. It had overwhelmed him. But now…  
  
I grabbed his shoulder and shook him, but to no avail. "Oh, he's out of it again!"  
  
Damn Ryou. Now I knew the eye worked and I still couldn't use it. If only he would stop passing out. Damnit!  
  
My anger renewed, I turned and left him there on the floor. He got himself there, he could get himself up. It occurred to me, though, that I would have to find someway to help him control those powers. I couldn't have Ryou screaming his head off every time we went after a millennium item. Especially when Yugi was my next target…  
  
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Whew! That was a long one. Now I have to think up what will happen next. R&R please! The reviews have been great so far! Thanks to everyone! 


	5. Suspicions of Yugi

Can you tell it's summer? First day off and already I must absorb myself in fanfiction. I'll run out of ideas soon if I'm not careful. Oh well…  
  
Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Never claimed to. But that will always be the dream…  
  
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Yugi  
  
Class was so dull. I played with my pencil in a lame attempt to keep myself entertained. I sighed, louder than I meant to, and the teacher gave me a dirty look. "Sorry," I muttered, and pretended to return to the assignment. I was usually a good student. I just couldn't concentrate today. I looked around the classroom and my eyes focused on an empty desk. Bakura. He'd been gone all this week. It wasn't like him to miss so much school. But he hadn't been like himself in a while. At least not like I knew him on Duelist Kingdom. I thought that he was avoiding me. I had my suspicions why, too, but I felt it would only lead to trouble if I mentioned it to Bakura. I knew he had his reasons…  
  
You see, Bakura and I have something in common. We both play hosts to the spirits (dark sides, yamis, whatever you want to call them) that haunt our millennium items. I must admit that I have a much better deal than he did. His yami was vicious, harsh, and abusive, while mine is simply over- competitive and protective. I say was in the case of his yami because we (we being Yami Yugi and myself) had thought that he had been destroyed. Unfortunately, recent occurrences seemed to prove otherwise. Besides Bakura avoiding me, there were the injuries. Every once in a while, Bakura would have a cut, or a nasty bruise, or a limp. Most people didn't notice this; people our age were always getting hurt. But I knew he wasn't the active type. Bakura was quiet and reserved. It's not like he got into roller blading accidents and the like.  
  
There was something else that bothered me. Bakura still wore the millennium ring. He kept it under his shirt, but I had seen it. He had been at his locker, and didn't know I was watching. Not that I was spying or anything. I was just concerned for my friend. He had taken the ring out, only for a moment, but that was long enough. Yami Yugi and I reached the same conclusion. There was no other explanation.  
  
Yami Bakura was back…  
  
"Motou!" the teacher's sharp voice brought me out of my thoughts. Confused, I looked up at her.  
  
"Ma'am?"  
  
"Perhaps if you could stop daydreaming long enough, you could answer question six?" she said sternly.  
  
"Uh…err…" I had no clue what we were doing.  
  
"Page 92," Anzu whispered, helpfully. I turned to the correct page and answered the question. Luckily, I had studied the night before. After the teacher stopped staring at me like a vulture, I turned to Anzu and mouthed the word "Thanks." She smiled.  
  
Later, after school, I spoke with my yami. We were in the privacy of my room, so he separated from me so that we could talk face to face. I expressed my concern for Bakura. He agreed that something was up.  
  
"Approaching him will only anger Yami Bakura, which is dangerous to the real Bakura," my dark side said. "But leaving it alone will give the grave robber the time he needs to recuperate."  
  
"Recuperate?" I asked.  
  
"The battle between us in the Shadow Realm must have left him weak. That must be the reason he hadn't shown himself. He's waiting."  
  
"For…?" I said, not getting his meaning.  
  
"Us. He tried for the puzzle once, there is no reason that he won't again." Yami Yugi stated.  
  
"And here I thought he was scared of you," I said, smiling. I was trying to break the all-to-serious atmosphere with a joke.  
  
He gave me a strange look. "What do you mean?" he said. I sighed.  
  
"Humor is wasted on you, you know that don't you?"  
  
  
  
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Yami Yugi  
  
The plan was simple. Yugi would find an excuse to go to visit Bakura. This would at least let us know how serious the situation was. Unfortunately, even if our fears were correct, I could do nothing while the soul stealer controlled his host. At least, not without killing Bakura in the process.  
  
I felt confident that there was no danger to Yugi yet. Yami Bakura would not dare attack. Not yet. I felt sure that he was still too weak to take me on. Heh, at his full strength I still beat him last time. I couldn't see how he could possibly have an advantage over me now…  
  
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Yami Bakura  
  
So the millennium eye was a little harder to manage than I anticipated. Pegasus had had the thing for years, so of course he made it look easy. It was nothing I couldn't overcome.  
  
I lay on Ryou's bed, trying to clear my head after yet another failed attempt. That took a lot out of you. There was no trouble activating the eye, but it was hard control, and hell to turn off. The problem was that I couldn't figure out how to make it read just one mind. Or even a few at a time. It seemed as if it honed in on every thought within a fifteen mile radius. The thoughts also ran together, so not one of them could be understood. And then you couldn't stop it. It just shut itself off after a while. It was quite a headache, literally. I understood now why Ryou had reacted the way he did. I didn't take it so badly, but I had to take his weakness into consideration.  
  
The afternoon sunlight shown through the window. I stood and was about to allow Ryou his body back when there was a knock at the door. An all too familiar voice called out.  
  
"Bakura! I've brought your schoolwork."  
  
"It's Yugi!" I said out loud. Oh! I quickly covered my mouth. He could have heard me. Not that I was afraid. I just wasn't in a state to risk confrontation. Maybe he would leave if he thought no one was home. I backed away, right into Ryou's table. A loud crash followed as a lamp fell to the ground and broke.  
  
"Are you ok in there?"  
  
Damn! He heard me.  
  
"Bakura! You've been gone three days now. The teacher asked me to bring you your assignments." He wasn't leaving. I retreated from the body and allowed Ryou to gain control.  
  
Get rid of him! I ordered my other.  
  
I could feel Ryou's confusion. Yugi, you idiot! He's at the door.  
  
But I can't let him see me like this! he said, referring to the millennium eye. This was true enough.  
  
Your hair is long enough. Cover it. Take a leaf out of Pegasus's book.  
  
What about the bruises?  
  
Make up an excuse. Now hurry, before he gets suspicious.  
  
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Five chapters in two days…Ah summer.  
  
So many, many wonderful reviews… I luv you all…sigh. I really wasn't expecting this to be so well received. Oh well! One of life few POSITIVE surprises. More to come soon, so keep those reviews coming! 


	6. Lies and Schoolwork

*White Angel sits atop a large concrete block and is chipping away*  
  
"Damn writer's block… What? Oh, yeah." *stands up*  
  
"I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!!!!! MUST I CONSTANTLY BE REMINDED?!!!"  
  
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Ryou  
  
What a miserable couple of days. Every time I regained my strength, Yami Bakura got the urge to try the eye again. Then my energy was gone once more. I still hadn't gotten a chance to clean up the mess of blood in the den. I wasn't even sure how much time had passed. When Yami Bakura took over, I lost all awareness. And although he didn't admit it, I knew he wasn't having much success with the millennium eye. How did I know? He stopped hitting me. He was too absorbed with the eye to concern himself with me. And he was worried. The millennium eye was his advantage against Yami Yugi. Well, the eye and me. During the last duel, Yami Yugi didn't attack until he saw that my yami and I were separated. With me safe, he was free to attack. Yami Bakura said he wasn't going to make that mistake again. I tried to explain to him that if Yugi was threatened, Yami Yugi wouldn't hesitate to attack me. But as usual, I was ignored. If he hadn't been distracted by the eye, he probably would have smacked me, too. So now I had being a hostage to look forward to.  
  
I was thinking of these things while I was confined to my soul room and my yami was "experimenting." Suddenly, I was tossed back to my body. Yami Bakura usually wasn't this eager to allow me my body back, so I knew something was wrong.  
  
Get rid of him! ordered my dark side.  
  
I had no clue what he was talking about.  
  
Yugi, you idiot! He's at the door.  
  
Oh, no! Now what do I do? If Yugi saw the eye, he would know that "I" had killed Pegasus! And he would know that my yami was back! If he found out, Yami Bakura would hurt me, bad…  
  
But I can't let him see me like this! I pleaded.  
  
Your hair is long enough. Cover it. Take a leaf out of Pegasus's book. Just the mention of Pegasus made me feel like my insides were tied in a knot. I felt so guilty.  
  
What about the bruises? I asked, stalling.  
  
Make up an excuse. Now hurry, before he gets suspicious. was the reply.  
  
"Are you ok, Bakura?" I heard Yugi call. "I heard a crash." What was he talking about? I looked about and found the explanation.  
  
"You broke my lamp!" I accused before I could catch myself. I flinched. I would regret that later.  
  
DON'T YOU SCOLD ME! he practically screamed mentally. I can see I have been too lenient with you lately. I'll have to fix that. Now answer that damned Yugi!  
  
"I'm coming, Yugi!" I called, less than enthusiastically. I had screwed up big time. Now Yami Bakura felt he had to put me in my place; teach me a lesson. I knew things had been too good to last. How pathetic is that? Times have been so bad that any amount of time that I wasn't in pain or scared were the "good things."  
  
I quickly brushed my hair over my face and checked it in the bathroom mirror to make sure that the millennium eye was covered. I then ran to the den to open the front door. Upon seeing the mess, I realized that I couldn't let Yugi in. Blood stains all over the floor never went unnoticed. I reached the door, unlocked it, and opened it just enough so that I could be seen.  
  
"It took you long enough," Yugi said good-naturedly. Then he saw me. I saw his expression change from his usual happy attitude to shock, then pity. "Bakura, what happened? You look like a train wreck…" Yugi said, bluntly.  
  
"I…uh…" I searched my mind for some kind of excuse. "Err…an accident…on my bike. Ran into a tree. Had to go to the hospital for a little while. They thought I might have a head injury. But I'm better now. I should be able to go back to school soon." There, that was believable. I managed a weak smile and tried to look as innocent as possible.  
  
"Since when do you have a bike?" Yugi asked.  
  
Oops! Oh, smooth move, Ryou. I hadn't had a bike since I was six, when I fell off and broke an arm. I had to make something up. "My father bought it for me this last weekend. Heh… Wrecked the first time I got on the fool thing."  
  
"Can I see it?" I couldn't tell if Yugi meant this honestly or if he was calling my bluff. Either way I had to think up another excuse. I was such a bad liar.  
  
"Uh…no…" I stammered. "My father brought it to the shop. It looked worse than I did after the accident."  
  
"I doubt that," Yugi muttered. I gave him a look. What did he doubt, exactly? Was he not believing my story?  
  
He noticed my look and quickly said, "Oh, nothing…sorry…oh…nothing…" Whatever he meant, he didn't mean for me to hear it. That was obvious enough.  
  
"Uh, where is your dad?" he asked to take the focus off of him. Happy to finally be able to answer something truthfully, I answered.  
  
"He's on a business trip for a few weeks. He left Saturday. A dig in Central America." My father was an archeologist.  
  
"So he bought you a bike, brought you to the hospital, AND brought the bike to the shop all in one day AND before leaving for Central America?"  
  
Ohhh… The one truth I tell and that's where he gets me. God, I was so stupid! Yami Bakura seemed to agree as he screamed at me from the back of my mind. You fool! Why don't you just announce that you're lying? Well at least I hadn't mentioned that my father's flight was at six a.m. Yugi seemed to sense my distress and honestly appeared to have regretted questioning me. He changed the subject.  
  
"Can I come in?" he asked. "You missed a lot of work and may need me to explain a bit."  
  
"Err… I really would prefer you didn't." Yugi looked hurt. "Oh, no. I didn't mean that…it's just…the place is so messy and…uh…Couldn't we just do it out here?"  
  
Yugi nodded. "I guess so. You have your math book, right? And science?"  
  
I told him I did and asked him to wait for a moment. I closed the door and ran to get my supplies. I also stopped to make sure the eye was still covered. Where was the hair spray when I needed it? Oh! But that would hurt on that eye, wouldn't it. Yami Bakura yelled at me that I should not have accepted Yugi's offer, but I told him that it would be more suspicious if I didn't. I was actually looking forward to this. Yugi was the first human contact I had had in days, seeing as my yami wasn't "technically" human.  
  
……………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yugi  
  
Bakura was a REALLY bad liar, but I felt sorry for him. I hadn't really meant to catch him up in it like that, I was just trying to make sense of what he was saying. Judging from the look on his face, he was really struggling with himself. Maybe in more ways than one. Poor guy… He seemed so guilty and ashamed. I changed the subject and sent him to get his supplies. He closed the door and left me there. I could hear him running to the back of the house.  
  
I believed that his injuries required him to stay home, but there was no way they were caused by running into a tree. It had to be Yami Bakura. It had to be.  
  
I agree. came my yami's voice from nowhere. Why doesn't he want you in the house?  
  
He says it's messy. I replied.  
  
Check.  
  
What?!!  
  
Check. He might be hiding something. For Bakura's sake, check.  
  
Who can argue with Yami's logic? I certainly couldn't. I opened the door a crack. The lights were off inside, so I opened it a little more. Now I could see. Now I could see…red stains all over the floor?  
  
Blood. Yami Yugi said. Bakura was hurt bad…  
  
Blood? Oh, my God! No wonder he hadn't come to school. But I hadn't seen any injury other than the bruises. What had happened here? I could hear Bakura shuffling around in the back. I quietly closed the door.  
  
At least we know for sure now. Yami said. He was right. There was no longer any doubt. Now we had to plan the next step.  
  
I spread my books out on the grass and sat down. Bakura soon returned and did the same. "So where do we start?" He asked.  
  
"You have a lot to choose from," I said. "Math, science, language… there's a ton of all of it."  
  
"Figures…" he said. "I'm gone two days and the old bat pours the work on."  
  
"Three." I corrected.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You've been gone three days," I stated again. "It's Wednesday." It was worse than I thought. He didn't even know how much time had passed. And there was something else. I didn't like the way he kept nervously brushing his hair into his face. He must have been covering more bruises.  
  
Bakura seemed to be searching for an excuse. I couldn't stand to see him suffering like that, so I offered him one. "I guess when you sleep all day, it's hard to keep track of the time, huh?"  
  
He nodded. "Right."  
  
Yami and I were both satisfied with the information we had gathered. Not happy, just satisfied. I spent the rest of the afternoon helping Bakura with his work. For someone who obviously had other concerns, he seemed rather enthusiastic about it. Guess he was glad to get his mind off of other problems that had nothing to do with square roots and formulas.  
  
…………………………………………………………………  
  
There! Another one down. It took two days and a bag of pixi stixs, but it's done. Now to start another one.  
  
*resumes chipping away at writer's block and mumbling various swear words* 


	7. Relapse

*Back atop the writer's block. White Angel sighs and looks at her chisel.*  
  
"Screw this!" *tosses chisel over her shoulder. She then downs a handful of pixi stixs and grabs a jackhammer*  
  
"DIEEEEEEEEEE!!! DAMN WRITER'S BLOCK! DIEEEEEEE!!"  
  
*White Angel has cut a sign into the block. It reads:  
  
I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!  
  
"There! It's official. Written in stone and everything. Now if you excuse me."  
  
*Returns to the writer's block with her jackhammer*  
  
{thoughts heard}  
  
………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
The situation was worse than I had originally feared. Unfortunately, nothing could be done at the moment. I had to wait for an opportunity. Bakura had mentioned returning to school. That would make it easier for Yugi to keep an eye on him and watch for anymore strange behavior.  
  
I was able to sense Bakura's lack of energy while he was with Yugi. This allowed me to come to both good and bad conclusions. The good news was that if he was weak, Yami Bakura was as well, and so, was limited. This meant that we had more time to prepare. The bad, however, was that Bakura seemed unnaturally weak. Much the same way that Yugi was when I over-used the power of my millennium puzzle. This meant that even though he was weak, Yami Bakura was very active when it came to using magic. Yet the millennium ring itself (the source of his power), didn't seem to be affected. The millennium items do not have limitless power. If he was using magic, the ring should have revealed some sign of it to me. That is, unless he had another power source… If he did I couldn't sense it. But that didn't mean that there wasn't one. It just meant that if there was one, it was so drained of power at the moment that I couldn't sense it. I didn't see how he could possibly have another source of magic. I knew of no other powers besides the millennium items, and the only other one we had come across, the eye, was supposed to be buried with Pegasus in America. I just couldn't piece together this puzzle. I couldn't make sense of it…  
  
…………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Damn that Yugi! He was getting too involved. No doubt that Yami Yugi had him snooping about. There was greater risk now. I had to be careful. I could no longer use my false form. Even a moment in it left me vulnerable. There was also something else. A vast majority of my strategy against Yami Yugi required me using Ryou's body. With him as a hostage and two millennium items at my disposal, I had quite an advantage. Plus, the emotionally attached Yami Yugi didn't want his host to be hurt, whereas I didn't give a damn what happened to mine. Unfortunately, if I was going to use Ryou's body, I needed it healthy. This meant I couldn't hit him. Which was hard not to do, considering how angry I was with him.  
  
How could you be so stupid?!!!  
  
I…I'm sorry. was his only reply.  
  
First, you allowed him to stay too long, and then you tell him that you will return to school tomorrow without even asking me! I said nothing about allowing you to return to school!  
  
But Yami, I have to! he pleaded. It will be too suspicious if I stay away any longer. Yugi probably came in the first place because it was strange for me to miss so much school. He was being entirely too bold. I really wanted to put him in his place, but I couldn't. But I couldn't let him know that either. I had to rely on tough talk and empty threats.  
  
HOW DARE YOU ARGUE WITH ME!!! I felt Ryou cringe. So far, so good. Ryou quieted down. Unfortunately, he did have a point. The damage was done and Yugi was expecting him to return. Nothing could be done at this point. How do you intend to hide the eye? I asked, still making myself sound threatening.  
  
Same way I did today. he said, submissively. I had succeeded in intimidating him. Make excuses for the bruises, not that anyone will ask me.  
  
I certainly hope they are better excuses than the ones you had today. I said harshly. The boy couldn't even lie right. There was no hope for the kid. How had I ended up in the body of a person like this?  
  
Yes, sir. he said. He paused for a moment, then Yami?  
  
What?  
  
What if the millennium eye activates at school?  
  
Heaven help you boy if you let anyone find out. Heaven help you…  
  
………………………………………………………………..  
  
Ryou  
  
Well, I had won one battle, though I wasn't about to brag about it. I was being allowed to return to school. Yami Bakura had begun his mental yells and insults as soon as Yugi had left. But surprisingly enough, he didn't hurt me. I wasn't about to push him, though.  
  
The millennium eye activating in school was a concern. It had activated once before with no warning; I supposed that it could do so again. At least now I would know what it was. But that wouldn't help with the pain of all those thoughts screaming in my head. If the problem should arise, I would have to find some place where I could be alone until it passed because I doubted I could hide it otherwise. That may be a problem in a school filled with hundreds of other students. But I was willing to accept the risk. Anything to keep Yami Bakura from blowing all my energy on that blasted eye everyday.  
  
The following morning I prepared to return to school. I managed to find some hair spray to help keep that eye covered (I was right. That DID sting. But the eye was healing quickly.). Somehow the night before I had managed to catch up on my schoolwork and clean up the mess of blood. I guess I was just trying to get my mind off of other problems. My father had called as well, just to check up on me. I told him I was fine. I hate lying like that.  
  
The walk to school was fairly uneventful. Yami Bakura was dormant, so I was truly alone until I reached school. As I expected, no one, save Yugi and his little gang of friends, noticed I had been gone. They were friendly enough. They greeted me and joked with me about playing hooky. I knew they had to have noticed the bruises, but they didn't mention them. Partly, I was grateful not to have to come up with anymore explanations, but I wondered what Yugi had told them.  
  
I felt the warm glow on my face, and quickly turned away. Oh, no! Not already! I prayed that they didn't see. But most of all, I prayed that Yami Bakura was still dormant and hadn't noticed the eye's activation. He said "I told you so" with a fist.  
  
"Something wrong, Bakura?" came Anzu's voice.  
  
{he's acting strange; Yugi said he may seem weird; what's up with him; now what is it}  
  
Judging from this I guessed they hadn't seen. But I had to get out of here, and fast. I could already feel more voices creeping up and the pain was starting. I tried not to cringe. I quickly glanced at the classroom clock. Fifteen minutes until class started.  
  
"I'm f-fine," I stammered. Then I faked a few coughs. "I just need some water. Be right back."  
  
I walked out of the room, but as soon as I closed the door behind me, I ran for the bathroom. The pain was coming fast. The flood of voices…  
  
{I wish I had stayed home; I wonder if homework will be checked; I shouldn't have stayed up so late; is he flirting with me?}  
  
I reached the bathroom and ran in. Luckily, no one was in there. I locked the door and found the corner furthest from the entrance, where I was less likely to be heard if I failed to repress a scream. I held my head and gritted my teeth. It didn't help, but it was all I could do to keep from yelling out loud. I fell against the wall and slid to the floor. I cowered there, trying to keep from passing out.  
  
………………………………………………………………  
  
*White Angel is breathing heavily, while she lies down, trusty jackhammer at her side and two ton writer's block still there*  
  
"I will…defeat you…demon writer's block." *shakes fist*  
  
Meanwhile, R&R! Pleasssse! 


	8. New Power

*White Angel and Ryou stand staring at writer's block*  
  
"Any ideas, Ryou?"  
  
"I don't know if I want to help you."  
  
"Why?!!"  
  
*Ryou points to eye*  
  
"Oh that… Well, what kind of story would it be if nothing bad happened?"  
  
*Ryou glares at her*  
  
"I'm SORRY! But the sooner we get rid of this writer's block, the sooner I can end your suffering. Now, any ideas?"  
  
*Ryou shrugs* "Bigger jackhammer?"  
  
"Got one?"  
  
"I can find one."  
  
"Good! You do that. Meanwhile…" *presses a button that turns on a big neon- green sign that says "I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH!"  
  
"Nuff said."  
  
……………………………………………………………………….  
  
Ryou  
  
The pain was intense. Just holding on to consciousness was hard enough. The room appeared to be spinning around me. I was about to lose it. I had to hold on.  
  
{I can't wait for the weekend; it's still too early; I wonder what she was up to last night}  
  
When would it stop? I couldn't take it!  
  
"Just calm down, Ryou," I told myself. "Just calm down. This is nothing. Just clear your head and don't think about the pain." I tried to take my own advice, but it was so hard. I took a few deep breaths and tried again to ignore the pain. It seemed to be working. The pain was lessening. In fact, the voices were quieting, too! Oh, thank you, God! It was stopping!  
  
I lowered my hands and relaxed against the wall. Whew! Glad that was over. After a few minutes, I stood. I hoped beyond hope that Yami Bakura hadn't noticed my distress. He'd yell at me for risking discovery. He might beat me, too, if the mood struck him. How would I explain being found beaten to a bloody pulp in the bathroom when the door was locked from the INSIDE. But, like clockwork, Yami Bakura made himself known.  
  
Ryou, what's going on out there?  
  
I continued to pray that he wouldn't find out, though I knew he probably already did, and ignoring him was dangerous.  
  
I haven't heard from you in a while. Did you pass out again? Probably did, the weakling…  
  
What? He couldn't tape into my thoughts? What was going on? I paced across the room, hoping my luck would hold through. I decided to risk answering him. I needed to know what was happening.  
  
Nothing's going on. I told him mentally. It's just such a boring class. Guess I spaced out. This was a bold-faced lie. If he really couldn't search my mind, then he wouldn't know the difference. But if I was wrong…  
  
I don't understand why you wanted to come to school so bad. he said. I thought it was for mental stimulation, but your mind has been blank for at least twenty minutes.  
  
I was blocking him out! But how? I felt him go back to his dormant state (he didn't like school, so he usually stayed quiet while I was there). How was I blocking him out? I knew he could block me out, but I had never been able to do the same. What was different now? Then a thought crossed my mind. The eye? Could that be it? If it could read minds, could it block them out too? If so, then how was I able to use it? I had been hoping and praying that he couldn't read my thoughts. Maybe I was answered by the eye… If I had truly figured out how to use it, then it would be a great asset. I couldn't keep him in the dark all the time, though. He would figure it out. I would have to let a few thoughts slip by.  
  
I washed my face in the sink and checked myself in the mirror to make sure the eye was covered. The hairspray held true. Then I realized something…  
  
"Did he say twenty minutes?!!!" Oh, I was late for class! Quickly, I unlocked the door and sped down the hall. Oh, what a way to start the day…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yugi  
  
Bakura walked back into class five or six minutes late. The teacher showed absolutely no mercy on him. Really, the guy had been gone for days. He obviously wasn't healthy. She could have given him a break.  
  
"Bakura, where have you been? Class starts promptly at seven-thirty."  
  
"S-sorry, Ma'am," he stammered. "I had a migraine."  
  
She noticed the bruises on his face as he looked up, but decided to ask no questions, heartless old toad… She gave him a detention and motioned him to his seat.  
  
Yugi. came my yami's voice so suddenly it made me jump. The teacher saw my sudden motion.  
  
"And what is your problem, Motou?"  
  
"Nothing, Ma'am," I answered. The old bat missed nothing.  
  
Sorry. Yami said.  
  
It's no problem. She's got it in for me.  
  
You want me to mind crush her?  
  
NO! I said sharply. Yami Yugi took things far too seriously. What is it you needed?  
  
That was no migraine. he said. Just before he left, I sensed a power from Bakura.  
  
Was it Yami Bakura taking over? I asked.  
  
It didn't come from the ring.  
  
Then what was it? What else could it be?  
  
I'm not sure. It's another power. A strong one. It seems kind of familiar, but I can't place it.  
  
Is it a threat to us? Or Bakura?  
  
Anything can be a threat. But I don't think we need to worry about it just yet. he said. The "old bat" is talking to you. Maybe you should answer?  
  
"MOTOU!!!"  
  
I nearly jumped out of my skin. She was about an inch from me. I had been so absorbed in my talk with Yami that I hadn't been paying attention at all. "Ma'am?" I said weakly.  
  
"Your attention span is growing worse by the day. You will join Bakura for detention."  
  
"Yes Ma'am" I said. Everyone was staring at me. Even Bakura looked at me with pity. How sad was that? The teacher turned around and walked back to the front.  
  
You see? I told my yami. That is why we shouldn't talk in class.  
  
The offer to mind crush her is still open  
  
Don't temp me…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
*back at the writer's block, White Angel is waiting and Ryou arrives*  
  
White Angel: "Did you find the bigger jackhammer, Ryou?"  
  
*Ryou shakes his head*  
  
Ryou: "I couldn't find Malik anywhere."  
  
*White Angel is confused*  
  
White Angel: "Malik isn't in this fic. He's not supposed to be around. What do you want him for?"  
  
Ryou: "To help you with your writer's block"  
  
White Angel: "How could Malik help me with my writer's block?"  
  
Ryou: "I was talking to Malik the other day, and he told me that all the girls go for him because he has an Egyptian tan and a big jackhammer. I didn't understand what he meant, but seeing as you are in need of a big jackhammer and you are a girl, I guess he was right."  
  
White Angel: o_O Ewwww!  
  
Ryou: What?  
  
White Angel: Never mind, Ryou. Just never mind. I'd prefer you to stay innocent.  
  
Ignore my writer's block sub-story. I'm just trying my hand at a little humor to lighten up this fic a little bit and practice for future fics. It'll probably continue this way for a while. A running gag. Just ignore it. Unless, of course, you like it. ^_^  
  
R&R please! 


	9. Detention and Abuse

*Back at the writer's block, White Angel continues to think while she spray paints I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH on the side of the block. Malik approaches*  
  
Malik: Hey, White Angel! Ryou says you want to see my big jackhammer.  
  
White Angel: o_O … I don't think so…  
  
Malik: Are you sure? It's really something.  
  
White Angel: Afraid it's not appropriate, Malik.  
  
Malik: As you wish.  
  
*Malik turns around and starts to walk away. White Angel looks at him for the first time and sees that he was dragging behind him a big jackhammer. A REAL one. *  
  
White Angel: O_O; WAIT, MALIK!!!  
  
*She runs after him*  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Ryou  
  
Well, at least if Yugi had detention with me, I wouldn't be alone. Not that it would make cleaning the gum off the bottom of the desks any more pleasant, just more tolerable.  
  
I was debating with myself about whether I should tell Yugi about the eye and Yami Bakura, or not. Detention would be a perfect time, and I really wanted to talk to someone. Maybe Yami Yugi could help. Now that I could block out Yami Bakura, I could talk to Yugi with less of a risk.  
  
But there was still a risk. There was always a risk. I might let something slip, and if I did, if Yami Bakura found out, there would be no help for me. There were other things, too. Telling Yugi would make me feel better, but I would just be pushing my problems onto him. I'd make him worry and stress. And I wasn't sure how Yugi would take the knowledge that I was a murderer. He was really the only friend I had. He might understand, but then, he might not…  
  
That settled it. I would deal with this without involving Yugi. No sense in making my problems his problems.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yugi  
  
Bakura and I were stuck staying after class. The teacher found the most disgusting jobs for us, but at least she didn't stay hovering over us. We were left alone. I could tell that Bakura had something on his mind. I thought about asking him about it, but Yami Yugi advised against it.  
  
It is best not to pressure him. he said. If he thought it best to tell us, I think he would have already.  
  
I guess he was right. No doubt Yami Bakura had intimidated Bakura into silence. If I showed any signs of suspicion, it would be Bakura to suffer. So I said nothing.  
  
Bakura was quiet, too. It was an odd, awkward quiet. The silence was deafening. I had to say something.  
  
"So, you get any good cards lately, Bakura? I haven't seen you at Grampa's shop in a while."  
  
He looked thoughtful. "I haven't really had time for Duel Monsters lately," he replied.  
  
"Oh…, that's too bad," I sympathized.  
  
"It's the least of my problems," he said. I thought he was going to add something to this, but he said no more and seemed to regret what he had said. I gave up trying to make conversation and we spent the rest of our sentence in silence.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Something was going on with Ryou. Even for a dolt like him, his mind was amazingly blank. I heard a few mindless thoughts every once in a while, but that was it. Every time I questioned him about it, he just said that he had dozed off or spaced out. I could find nothing in his mind to prove otherwise. All the old memories were there as they had always been and I could access them freely. But there was almost nothing new. Could Ryou be keeping something from me? Was he capable of that? I had always been able to overpower his will before. I didn't see how he could be keeping me in the dark now. I supposed I must have just been paranoid. I could feel an impending confrontation with Yami Yugi coming and I was concerned. Not worried, just concerned. Even though I had several advantages (I don't know if I would count the eye, seeing as I couldn't use it very well), Yami Yugi was not to be underestimated. That was one way I had messed up last time, and it almost cost me an eternity in the Shadow Realm. Almost.  
  
With this impending threat, it was more important now than ever that I master the eye, but I had to make a decision. If I used the nights to experiment and seceded, my magic abilities would outweigh that of Yami Yugi, but it would leave Ryou's body weak. He would take longer to finish healing and his weakened state would leave me at a physical disadvantage. But what were physical abilities in a shadow game anyway? I stood too much to gain. I would train with the eye for as long as I could. When I would feel confident enough, I would seek out Yugi. Better to surprise him than to have him surprise me.  
  
Ryou protested my intentions, saying that he could not handle that much of a drain on his energy, not that I had asked his permission. I had grown tired of his boldness. Now that I had decided to forfeit keeping his body strong anyway, I no longer worried about hurting him. I formed my false form for a few moments just to put him in his place. I was stronger now anyway, so it wasn't so much of a drain on my energy. I added a few bruises to his already impressive collection and I very nearly broke his arm. He didn't protest anymore.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Ryou  
  
Yami Bakura had me pinned face down on the floor of my home. His knee was pressed in between my shoulder blades and he had all his weight upon me. He held my left arm at a very painful angle behind my back. He kept applying pressure to it and making me scream. He had already beaten me up quite a bit. My nose and lip were bleeding and I was sure I had a black eye. He had gone so long without hitting me that I guessed he felt he had to make up for lost time.  
  
"I DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR PERMISSION TO DO ANYTHING!!" he bellowed. " I HAVE POWER OVER YOUR LIFE AND YOU WILL RESPECT THAT. YOU ARE A LOWLY DOG AND I AM THE MASTER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"  
  
"Y-yes," I stammered, spitting out blood.  
  
He applied pressure to my arm again and I screamed. I thought it was about to pop out of its socket.  
  
"YES WHAT!"  
  
"Yes, m-master," I cried through the tears and blood. "Yes, master!"  
  
He roughly released me. I lay there on the floor, cowering and cradling my injured arm.  
  
"When will you learn that I am not to be questioned?" he asked. I wasn't sure if I should answer. A swift kick to the ribs told me that he expected a response.  
  
"I've learned, master, I've learned. I did not mean to question your judgment." He seemed satisfied. He gave me one last scowl before returning to his soul room, but he wasn't going to be there for long. I could already feel him creeping up on my conscience. It was best not to fight it. I couldn't fight it. My yami was right. I didn't have the strength. I was weak. I was nothing…  
  
This was the beginning of absolute hell for me. Yami Bakura no longer hesitated to put me in my place should I step out of line. I had been foolish to think that being able to hide a few thoughts from him was a ray of hope. It did me no good. Having that one hope prove worthless made it all the worse. But I still did not let him know of the millennium eye activating in school or my considering asking Yugi for help. No point in giving him more reason to cause me pain. But there was no hope anymore. No hope at all…  
  
…………………………………………………………………………..  
  
What a depressing way to end the chapter. Poor Ryou's spirit has been broken.  
  
*At the writer's block*  
  
Malik: What did you think I meant when I said I had a big jackhammer?  
  
White Angel: Never mind. Let's give this thing a try, shall we?  
  
*White Angel dons a pair of safty goggles and goes to work. Unfortunately, when the dust clears, the block is still whole*  
  
Malik: Damn! That's some writer's block you've got.  
  
White Angel: Tell me about it…  
  
White Angel: Hey Malik! You going to see Ryou?  
  
Malik: Yeah. We're going to play badminton! ^_^  
  
White Angel: OK… Anyway give him this. *she tosses Malik a Ryo-Ohki plushie* Tell him that's from HotaruMaxwell to make him feel better. Oh, and tell him that Kennie-chan says hi.  
  
Malik: Ryou gets all the attention. ( I have a big jackhammer. Doesn't that count for anything?  
  
White Angel: Speaking of which, do you need it back, since it didn't work?  
  
Malik: ??? Oh! You thought I was talking about that jackhammer…  
  
White Angel: o_O Ewwww!!!  
  
R&R pleeeeeeease! 


	10. A Spirit Broken

*Again at the writer's block, White Angel looks to the sky as a plane zooms by followed by a banner that reads I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH! Yami Yugi arrives*  
  
White Angel: Well, Ryou and Malik, although cute and incredibly strange, were not much help. I hope you can do better Yami.  
  
Yami: Maybe…  
  
White Angel: What's your plan?  
  
Yami: *shakes head* Pixi Stixs first.  
  
White Angel: Oh, all right. *hands him a couple dozen Pixi Stixs, which he eats in like two seconds* Now, your plan?  
  
Yami: *On an instant sugar high* This! *pulls out half a dozen sticks of dynamite*  
  
White Angel: O_O WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!!!!!!!  
  
Yami: *shrugs* I found it .^_^  
  
White Angel: Oh, well. It's convenient none the less. Let's get to work, shall we?  
  
(Thanks to Kitsune of Insanity for the TNT and sugar suggestion, though I am not sure that I used it the way you intended! LOL)  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yugi  
  
Bakura was getting worse. Two days after we had detention together, he got another one for falling asleep in class. He looked even worse now than he did the day I brought him his homework. His bruises seemed to be multiplying, and he continued to cover one side of his face with his hair. I wondered if the injury under there could possibly be worse than the rest of them.  
  
More than anything, Bakura looked lonely. I decided to eat lunch with him, maybe make some conversation, be a friend to him. He seemed to need one. But following Yami's advice, I would not mention the new injuries. No sense in getting Bakura into more trouble.  
  
It was the Tuesday of the following week. I watched him leave class and walk to the lunchroom, his bookbag slung over his right shoulder. He walked slow, and with a slight limp, poor guy… He and I both got in line for the hot lunch. He was a few people ahead of me, so I had to watch for where he would sit. He went to an empty table in the corner of the room and sat down. I caught up to him.  
  
"Mind if I sit with you?" I asked, holding my lunch tray in one hand and tapping him on the left shoulder with the other. His reaction was immediate. He cringed and jerked away from my touch, knocking over his juice in the process. I almost spilled my lunch as well.  
  
"Is that a yes?" I asked. I had at first taken this reaction the wrong way. Then I saw the way he was gingerly rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"N-no. It's not that," he said as he began cleaning up the mess. "My shoulder…it's just a little sore is all. You can sit here…if you want to." He didn't seem to care either way. He was so passive. He was so indifferent. He was so…hopeless…  
  
Bakura barely ate at all. I was half expecting him to fall asleep right then and there. He looked as if he hadn't sleep in days. It was really a sorry site. But he never complained. He never said one word of negativity towards his current situation. It was really strange. Bakura had never been much of a complainer, but really…he had taken passiveness to a new level. He no longer seemed to be deep in thought, or worried, or struggling with himself. He showed no emotion. He was just…blank. That is the only word that I could think of to describe it. Blank.  
  
I tried to involve him in some conversation. I told him about the new cards my grampa got in, and about the Duel Monsters tournament finals going on in America. I told him about Anzu worrying about her math test and Jounouchi goofing around with Honda. Nothing affected him. He answered me simply, but showed no enthusiasm. He stared down at his lunch, poking at his food a bit. What was with him? Why was he acting like this? Has things really been that bad for him? As if the injuries weren't enough, had Yami Bakura crushed his very soul? Had he broken his spirit, his will to resist?  
  
Bakura decided that he had had enough of lunch. He stood, slung his bag over his right shoulder (I knew why now), and muttered a simple goodbye as he turned and walked (or limped) away.  
  
I had a serious talk with Yami Yugi later on. Were we too late to help Bakura? Could anything be done to bring him back to reality? Yami said he couldn't answer these questions yet, but he was working on a plan. I sure hoped that it was a good plan. If we could still help Bakura, we didn't have that much time to waste. He didn't seem as though he could get much worse, but I had thought the same thing the first time I had seen him hurt…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
We would have to act soon, or it would be too late for Bakura. His spirit was broken, his will crushed. Having spent so much time with millennium items, I had seen such a thing before (I am not proud to admit it, but I may have caused a few of them myself). The end result was not pretty. If we did not get Bakura away from his Yami's abuse soon, then there would be no saving him. Even if we did eventually free him, the REAL Bakura would be long lost.  
  
The plan I was working on was risky. I was trying to spare Bakura and Yugi the danger of the impending confrontation between myself and Yami Bakura, but in order to get Yami Bakura to agree to my terms, I would have to give up something in return. The something I was considering I knew Yami Bakura would not be able to pass up, but I also knew that I was giving him a great advantage. If he careful in his choices, I would stand at a very difficult challenge. A challenge I could very well lose…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
I was still unable to use the damned eye. I had worked on it for more than a week, and still nothing. No one could believe how frustrated I was. But Ryou was always there for me to relieve my frustrations on. He had become obedient, I'll give him that. He didn't fight anymore. He didn't argue. He had become an ideal slave. If I had known that he could become so passive and obedient, I would have enforced it a long time ago. It was almost scary the way Ryou had accepted his fate. There were no thoughts of resistance in his head at all. It was as if he had no will at all. Heh. I had always said that he was a weakling…  
  
…………………………………………………………………….  
  
*White Angel and Yami Yugi have attached the dynamite all around the writer's block*  
  
White Angel: Ready? *goes to push the plunger*  
  
Yami: Awww…but I wanted to push the plunger!  
  
White Angel: But it's my writer's block…  
  
Yami: But it's MY dynamite…  
  
*They continue arguing. Meanwhile, Jounouchi comes by and listens to the argument*  
  
Jounouchi: Hey! I can solve this one for you! *Pushes plunger*  
  
White Angel and Yami: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I WANTED TO!!!!!!  
  
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! The dynamite explodes. White Angel is about to celebrate the destruction of the evil writer's block when she sees that it is still whole*  
  
White Angel: OH, HELL!!!  
  
Yami and Jounouchi: O_O Wow…  
  
Jounouchi: That's one hell of a writer's block…  
  
White Angel: YOU! I haven't forgotten your little interference. Let's get 'em Yami!  
  
Yami: Right!  
  
Jounouchi: EEP!  
  
*Jounouchi runs as White Angel and Yami chase after him, yelling various death threats*  
  
R&R pretty please! All the reviews have been great! Over 60 reviews! *does the happy dance* Yea! ^_^  
  
*in her pursuit of Jounouchi, White Angel runs past Ryou and Malik's badminton game. Both of the boys are wearing those cute little tennis-type outfits ^_^*  
  
White Angel: Oh, Ryou! Glad I ran into you. *She stops, but Yami continues chasing Jounouchi. She pulls out a gift basket filled with candy and chocolate. On the bottom is a blanket with a millennium ring on it.* This is from Kitsune of Insanity, because she felt so bad for how much I am torturing you in this fic.  
  
Ryou: ^_^ Thanks! I LUV chocolate! I also luv my Ryo-Ohki plushie. *huggles it.*  
  
Malik: Don't I get anything?  
  
White Angel: Oh, yeah. She said hi to you.  
  
Malik: A hi. That's what I get? There is no justice.  
  
White Angel: It's cuz you're such a perv. Hey, who's winning?  
  
Ryou: *angrily points to Malik* HIM! Because he keeps aiming for my blind side. .  
  
Malik: *turns to Ryou and gives him a raspberry* :P  
  
White Angel: No justice. Right. And you wonder why no one sends you presents. You're lucky you got a hi.  
  
*Jounouchi and Yami get tired of running around and return to where the rest are*  
  
Jounouchi: Hey! Badminton!  
  
Yami: Can we play?  
  
Malik: Yeah, but Ryou's not on my team. He's got a disability.  
  
Ryou: . 


	11. The Assembly

*At the writer's block, it's Seto Kiaba's turn!*  
  
White Angel: Whatcha got there, Seto?  
  
Seto: Kiaba Corp's latest invention. A ray gun!  
  
White Angel: I thought ya'll only did holograms and the like.  
  
Seto: It's one of our little pet projects that the government doesn't know about yet. This baby can punch through five feet of steel in three seconds.  
  
White Angel: Impressive. Think it can handle the writer's block?  
  
Seto: I seriously doubt that your little writer's block even stands a chance.  
  
White Angel: I hope you're right. Help me out and give it a try…  
  
Seto: *Takes aim, then stops* Wait!  
  
White Angel: What?  
  
Seto: You're the one who gave Yami sugar, aren't you?  
  
White Angel: *innocent look* Uh…no…  
  
Seto: Liar! That maniac wrote "Yami Yugi rules, Kiaba sucks" in acid on my front lawn! I'm not about to help the person who put Yami on his sugar high!  
  
White Angel: NOOOO! SETOOOOOO! PLEEEEASE! *holds on to his feet as he struggles to walk away*  
  
Seto: GET OFF ME!  
  
White Angel: Not until you help :P  
  
*Seto doesn't notice the sign that White Angel paid Yami in Pixi Stixs to put on his back. It reads: "White Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh" and "Kick Me!" Yami added that last bit.*  
  
{thoughts}  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Ryou  
  
My days were spent at school. My nights were spent in my soul room while Yami Bakura depleted my energy sources. I was exhausted, but Yami Bakura said this was the way it was going to be. There was no point in arguing with him. He always won. He always got his way.  
  
It was Friday, and the school had an assembly planned. Another of those don't smoke, drink, or do drugs type things. Maybe I would be able to sleep through it.  
  
On the way to auditorium where the assembly was being held, Yugi caught up with me. He asked if I minded him sitting with me. I told him he could if he wanted to. I didn't understand why he was following me around. I guessed that it really didn't matter. If he insisted on it, there was no point in questioning it. There was no point in anything anymore.  
  
The whole school was piled into the room. I sat in the back so that no one would notice if I fell asleep. Yugi sat at my side. He said some things; I don't really remember what they were. I was so tired…  
  
The students finished filing in and the lights dimmed. The program was starting. Ten minutes went by. I tried to sleep, but Yugi kept talking to me, nudging me, asking me questions, making jokes. I could see that I wasn't going to get any rest. I wondered how much longer this thing was going to last. I wondered if anyone would even care if just dropped down and fell asleep forever.  
  
In the darkness, the glow of the millennium eye was much more evident than it had been in the classroom. I quickly covered it with my hand. Yugi looked at me, wondering if he had just imagined that, but I was too preoccupied to take notice of him. Oh, no, God, no. This couldn't be happening now. How could this be happening? Without thinking, my first reaction was to block out Yami Bakura. If he were to know that it had activated so close to Yugi, he would…well, I didn't want to think about what he would do.  
  
It was coming on fast now. The voices, the pain. I was in a crowded room filled with thoughts, and the eye was quickly picking up on all of them. This wasn't like when I had been in the classroom with only a few people within range of the eye at first. I was in a room with hundreds of others. I tried not to show my distress to Yugi, but I needed to get out of there. I needed to get away from the voices.  
  
"I have to get out of here." I said to Yugi. He seemed concerned.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"A migraine. I just need to get out of here."  
  
{The migraine again; I told you about that; it's not getting better; what is really wrong with him; what is he hiding;}  
  
These were the last understandable thoughts I heard. There were too many of them now. All screaming in my head. I had to get away. I stood up, still covering the eye with my hand, and stepped past the Yugi to get to the aisle. I then went for the exit, trying not to show how much pain I was suffering or how much of a hurry I was in. With the noise of the presentation and the darkness of the room, I didn't think anyone had noticed me. As soon as I was out of the door, though, I didn't worry about the people in the room. I just wanted to get as far away from them as I could. I wanted to get far away from everyone.  
  
I held my head in my hands, trying to bring myself some relief from the pain. I took off running for the opposite side of the school, away from the source of my pain. I was so exhausted. I couldn't run straight. I kept bumping into the walls and lockers on either side of me. The pain of my injured shoulder and arm was added to the pain in my head as a result of this. I could hear nothing but the voices. I kept running, now aimless. I just kept going as fast as my legs could carry me. Unfortunately, they would not hold up long. I stopped and tried to calm down the way I had before to quiet the thoughts, but I was past the panic point. I was too tired. The pain and exhaustion was going to make me lose consciousness. My feet gave out under me and I fell, but I didn't hit the floor. Someone caught me. I looked up to try and see who it was, but I couldn't. My vision was graying out. I fainted there in the arms of whoever it was who was kind enough to be there for me.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yugi  
  
I knew I had seen something. There had been a light. It had come from Bakura, but I didn't think it was from the ring. This must have been the other power that Yami had spoken of. But before I could get a good look, Bakura turned away, muttering something about a migraine.  
  
The migraine again I told my yami.  
  
I told you about that he replied.  
  
It's not getting better What was really wrong with him? What was he hiding?  
  
Bakura stepped past me to get to the aisle and went for the door.  
  
Follow him. Yami Yugi said. We need to know what is wrong if we are going to help him. And we need to know what new power he has. I have my suspicions, but I pray to the gods that I am wrong. If I am right, then we are in trouble…  
  
I stood up and did as my yami suggested. He never worried without reason. I went through the door and looked about for Bakura. He was down the hall, hands and arms holding his head as he ran as if his life depended on it. I followed as fast as I could go (being short was really a drag), but I was falling behind, even with Bakura bumping into walls and lockers.  
  
Let me take over Yami said. I conceded. When he took over, he was taller and faster. I went to my soul room and allowed Yami Yugi to continue the pursuit.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
Yugi allowed me to assume control of his body, and I continued after Bakura, who didn't even seem able to walk straight, let alone run straight. He didn't notice that I was there. I called to him a few times, but he either didn't hear me or chose not to listen. After a while he slowed and then stopped, still clutching his head, and I was able to catch up to him. He still took no notice of me. I could sense the power clearly now and my fears were confirmed. He started to fall and I caught him. I felt so bad for Bakura. Like Yugi, he was caught in the middle of something much bigger than himself. Bakura looked up at me, though I wasn't sure if he actually saw me. The hair had fallen away from his face, revealing what I already knew. He then collapsed completely.  
  
Yami, what is it? called the innocent voice of Yugi. Unlike me, when he was in his soul room, he was oblivious to everything on the outside.  
  
Bakura has the millennium eye I told him. As I had suspected. This complicates matters quite a bit…  
  
………………………………………………………………..  
  
*At the writer's block after much pleading and begging on the part of White Angel*  
  
White Angel:*holding a coffee cup* Are you sure you're doing it right?  
  
Seto: Yes I am doing it right! It must be a technical problem. It probably wouldn't work on anything. *points it to the ground about twenty feet away and fires. It leaves a rather large gaping hole* O_O;;; Or maybe not…  
  
White Angel: The block has defeated you too, Seto.  
  
Seto: *is very angry* WELL YOU'RE NOT HELPING ANY!!! All you are doing is standing there, drinking coffee.  
  
White Angel: This isn't coffee.  
  
Seto: It isn't?  
  
White Angel: No. It's Dr. Pepper and diluted Pixi Sticks. I call it "The Sugar-Addict's Dream." ^_^  
  
Seto: Just don't give any to Yami.  
  
White Angel: I'm just trying to prepare. It would be vodka if I was legal.  
  
Seto: Prepare for what, dare I ask?  
  
White Angel: After all the fairly sane people failed, I must call in the heavy artillery. Needless to say, I'll have to be on a nice sugar high for this, since I can't be drunk.  
  
Seto: You don't mean…You can't mean…  
  
White Angel: Yep! *sips Sugar-Addict's Dream* I'm calling in the masters of destruction, Yami Bakura and Yami Malik…  
  
Seto: God help us all…  
  
Keep those reviews coming! I'll be going out of town soon. I hope I'll be able to keep up with this story. But if it doesn't get updated for a while, that's why. I WILL FINISH THIS STORY EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!!! Oh! And I can't get the damned review box to work, so I can't respond to some of your questions that way. .* I would love to hear Mosobot64's advice for writer's block. And as for the question someone had asked about what happened to Ryou's REAL eye, I thought about it while I was writing, but I couldn't think of a way to put it that wasn't…gross. So I just left out that little detail. You can just assume that it was part of the mess of blood in the den, or you can use your imagination. Either way, it isn't pleasant. Oh, and the chapters are fairly short because of the writer's block. You can have a fairly short chapter everyday or one big chapter every three or four days. Because of the side-story (which, surprisingly enough, I know where I am going with), I am doing a bit everyday. Though I enjoy writing this very much, I can't sit and type very long because other people in my household would like to use this computer. ^_^ I would like to answer some more questions, but I can't without giving away the story, so you will just have to wait! ^_~ Sorry! 


	12. A Friend in Need

*At the writer's block stands (or rather bounces) a very sugar high White Angel. Yami Bakura and Yami Malik are taking measurements of the block. Then they walk over to White Angel*  
  
Yami Bakura: If you wanted something destroyed, you should have called us first.  
  
Yami Malik: Yeah. We're the experts.  
  
White Angel: Well you guys were kinda a last resort.  
  
Yami Malik: *dripping with false innocence* I can't imagine why…  
  
Yami Bakura: What have you tried?  
  
White Angel: Just about everything.  
  
Yami Bakura: Jackhammer?  
  
White Angel: Tried it.  
  
Yami Malik: Dynamite?  
  
White Angel: That was Yami Yugi. Didn't work.  
  
Yami Bakura: Some futuristic high-tech weapon that is probably illegal?  
  
White Angel: That was Seto. His plan didn't work either.  
  
Yami Malik: Acid?  
  
White Angel: Yami used it all on Seto's lawn. (Sorry Red Dragon and fERAL iMP. He got to it before I could, though I think he may have put it to better use! LOL)  
  
*Yami Bakura and Yami Malik nod at each other*  
  
Yami Malik: I can see that we are going to have to take this one seriously. It may prove to be a challenge even to us.  
  
Yami Bakura: Right. Should we use "the big one?"  
  
Yami Malik: Are you sure it is that serious?  
  
Yami Bakura: Not really. But what other excuse are we going to have to use it?  
  
Yami Malik: Good point. *to White Angel* We'll be right back with you. *They leave*  
  
White Angel: I would be worried if I wasn't so sugar high. Being in my right mind might help too. You know I have to be crazy to have gotten these guys involved…  
  
(Thanks to fERAL iMP and Moonymonster for the suggestions. You know what's coming! ^_~)  
  
………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
Now that I knew for sure that Bakura had two millennium items, I realized that my plan might be even harder to pull off. None the less, I would have to try. And soon. At least now I knew what had happened to Pegasus on the Duelist Island.  
  
I put Bakura's arm over my shoulder and carried him to a nearby empty classroom. He was actually bigger than I was, so it was a bit difficult (physical strength was never my forte), but I managed. I locked the door after me and stretched Bakura out on the floor. He was out cold. I didn't know much about modern healing methods, so I separated from Yugi so that he could help me. I could tell that Yugi was shocked when he first laid eyes on the haunting millennium eye on the face of his friend even though I had told him about it. He soon snapped out of it though. He got up and went for the back of the classroom. He came back with a white box with a red cross on the front.  
  
"First aid kit," he said. "We should be able to find something to help him in here."  
  
I backed off and watched as Yugi went to work.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yugi  
  
It was hard to believe that this had happened to Bakura. God, he was the most innocent person I had ever met. He didn't deserve this. As if being beaten up wasn't bad enough, he had been permanently mutilated as well. It wasn't fair.  
  
Bakura was out, but he was breathing and didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. I got the first aid kit out of the back of the room. I looked inside for something that could be used for a cold cloth. I found a bandage that would work well. I also found some smelling sauce. That would help to wake him up. I dampened the bandage in the sink (we were in a science lab), and walked back to Yami and Bakura.  
  
"Ok, he may be a bit scared when he wakes up, so be prepared," I told Yami. I opened the small bottle and passed under Bakura's nose a few times. At about the third pass, Bakura's eye flashed open. As I expected, he was scared and confused. He sat up very quickly and scooted away from Yami and me until his back was pressed up against the large teacher's desk. He looked back and forth between me and Yami a couple times.  
  
"Y-Yugi," he said finally, "What's going on?"  
  
"Perhaps it is you who should be answering that." Yami said before I could say anything.  
  
"W-what do you m-mean?" he stammered.  
  
Yami sighed and pointed to his own left eye. Bakura put a hand to his face and felt that his hair no longer covered the eye. His mouth dropped open. "Oh, no…You weren't supposed to see. If he finds out…if he finds out, then…"  
  
"Yami, you could try to show a little compassion," I said.  
  
"Sorry." he replied simply.  
  
Bakura was on the border of hysterics. I went to him and tried to calm him down.  
  
"Relax, relax," I told him, handing him the cold cloth. "Put this on your head." He did so, leaning on the desk, breathing heavily. Then Yami piped up again.  
  
"What do you mean IF he finds out…?"  
  
…………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Bakura  
  
This couldn't be happening. I had been found out. I had been discovered. It was a good thing that I was already blocking out my yami. There would be no saving me if he knew that I had let Yugi and his dark side know about the eye. But I wouldn't be able to hide something like this for long. I couldn't expect Yami Yugi to do nothing with this new information. He was already questioning me.  
  
"What do you mean IF he finds out…?"  
  
I hesitated. I would be digging myself into a bigger hole if I gave away more information.  
  
"I already know that Yami Bakura has returned and caused you quite a bit of grief, but what do you mean IF he finds out? He hasn't already?"  
  
Well, he knew most of what was going on. I guessed that it was obvious after he'd seen the eye. I might as well finish filling him in. I was dead already. I told both Yugis all about waking up with the eye, how sick I was, the pain and confusion when the eye activated, my yami beating up on me and being unable to use the eye, and my discovering how to block him out. I felt a bit better after getting all this off of my chest. But I knew it wouldn't help me any. My fate was sealed. Yami Bakura would see this as treachery.  
  
"So he doesn't know yet?" Yugi asked, making sure he had heard right. I nodded.  
  
"But he will not be unaware for long."  
  
"Why?" I did not answer. Instead I looked at Yami Yugi.  
  
"Oh…" was Yugi's reply.  
  
"I do not expect you to give up any opportunities against my yami," I said, "now that you know his "secret" weapon that he can't even use." Yami Yugi remained silent.  
  
I then began to feel the strange sensation that I had so often felt… Yami Bakura! I had kept him in the dark too long, and now he was trying to gain control to see what was going on! I couldn't let him out, but I couldn't stop him either. I wasn't strong enough.  
  
Then, as I was struggling to suppress my yami, another thought crossed my mind. Yami Yugi had separated from Yugi! He was in a false form, cut off from most of his power! He wouldn't stand a chance if Yami Bakura attacked now! Yugi and his yami were both looking at me with a curious expression on each of there faces. No doubt I looked as if I had lost my mind with the sweat rolling down my face and my body shaking as I fought to keep control. I had to tell them, but time was running out. Yami Bakura had figured out that I was trying to keep him out and was fighting like mad against my will now. With my last willful action, I pointed to Yami Yugi.  
  
"Get b-back to Yugi…Now!"  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
*Yami Malik and Yami Bakura are pulling a wagon with a large object in it over to White Angel*  
  
White Angel: What is that?  
  
Yami Bakura: I call it "Fun Waiting to Happen" but I guess you would call it a nuclear warhead.  
  
White Angel: A NUKE!!!  
  
Yami Malik: Yeah.  
  
White Angel: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!!!!  
  
Yami Bakura and Yami Malik: We found it! ^_^  
  
White Angel: Where do you yamis find these things? First dynamite and now a nuke.  
  
Yami Malik: Sorry, that's confidential. Dark Egyptian spirits only. You understand.  
  
White Angel: Whatever. This had better work.  
  
*All three dress in really strong radiation suits, strap the nuke to the writer's block, and get really far away for the detonation.*  
  
Yami Bakura: I wanna press the button.  
  
Yami Malik: No, I wanna press the button.  
  
White Angel: NO, I wanna press the button.  
  
Yami Bakura: Tell you what. At the count of three, we all press the button.  
  
*everyone agrees*  
  
Yami Bakura: One…Two *at two, he presses the button*  
  
Yami Malik and White Angel: CHEATER!!! DAMN YOU!!!  
  
*nuke goes off and all watch the mushroom cloud. Pieces of the writer's block are falling all around*  
  
White Angel: *forgets about decapitating Yami Bakura* YEA! IT'S DEAD!!!  
  
*Yami Malik and Yami Bakura are about to pack up their wagon and leave when something strange begins to happen. The broken pieces of the writer's block begin to merge together a la the T-1000 in Terminator 2. Soon it is back together completely.*  
  
White Angel: NO! NO! NO! NO! CRAP!!!  
  
Yami Bakura and Yami Malik: O_O It's not possible!  
  
White Angel: Another failed attempt… Will this block ever DIE!!! Oh, well. Now that you've had a try *quietly adds "And I'm still mad at you for pushing my button"* , I can give you this. It's from Moonymonster. *hands Yami Bakura a wrapped box*  
  
Yami Bakura: For me? *takes off his radiation hood*  
  
Yami Malik: Why don't I get anything?  
  
White Angel: *quietly to Yami Malik* Geez! You're as bad as the normal Malik. Believe me, you don't want it.  
  
Yami Malik: Ohhh…*backs away*  
  
Yami Bakura: What is in it? *shakes box*  
  
White Angel: O_O That's not a good idea!  
  
*Too late! Moonymonster's bomb inside the box goes off. When the smoke clears, we see a very crispy Yami Bakura*  
  
Yami Bakura: Ouch…*collapses*  
  
Yami Malik: You're right. I didn't want it. That'll learn him to cheat!  
  
White Angel: Damn! It was supposed to blow him to Jupiter! Guess he broke it when he shook it. Or maybe it was because the box was closed…  
  
R&R please! 


	13. Yami vs. Yami Confrontation

The main story is going to be getting pretty dark (like it isn't already), so if you don't want to ruin the mood, you may want to read the side-story completely before or after you read the main one instead of separating them. Or maybe not read it at all…  
  
And yeah, the main story chapters have been shorter, but that was for a reason. I've been trying to stop at convenient places, before major events start and such. I didn't want to stop in the middle of the action. These next ones should be longer, because we are getting into some major action. I've been making the goofy side story longer as sort of compensation, though it's not much of one. This story shouldn't have more than about three good-length chapters left. Also, after this chapter, I'm stopping the gift thing. It was fun, but it's just taking up to much time and space. And, yes. In this fic, the eye did have something to do with preventing Ryou from becoming too sick with his injury. I guess I didn't make that clear enough in the early chapters, so sorry! In the show, when Pegasus gets the eye, he doesn't get that hurt. Yet when it gets taken, he dies or almost dies. Both procedures were done to Pegasus unwillingly. So that's where I get this from.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
*At the badminton game*  
  
White Angel: COME ON!!! Somebody has to have some idea to get rid of that block.  
  
Seto: Sorry…tried.  
  
Yami Malik: Yeah. Face it, that block isn't going anywhere.  
  
White Angel: NOOOOO! Well maybe watching ya'll will help me think of a way.  
  
*A rather interesting three on three game was in progress. Everyone, save White Angel, was in tennis-type outfits, complete with sweatbands. ^_^ It was Malik, Ryou (White Angel made Malik be nice to Ryou with a choice of that or being duct-taped to his Yami. At least it was a choice.), and Seto vs. Yami Yugi, Yami Malik, and Yami Bakura. Jounouchi was keeping score. The Yamis were losing horribly.*  
  
Yami Malik: It's not fair! *points to the other team* They actually know what they are doing!  
  
Yami Bakura: Yeah! They didn't have this in Egypt.  
  
Malik: It's ya'll own fault. Remember, Mr. No Yami Can Lose At Any Game Against A Mortal?  
  
Yami Bakura: Yeah, well…  
  
Yami Yugi: Come on! Quit making excuses and let's get our dignity back!  
  
*Ryou serves and Yami Yugi spikes it so hard, it goes a foot into the ground*  
  
Yamis: All right! *slaps high five*  
  
Jounouchi: Point for Team Sanity.  
  
Yamis: WHAT!  
  
Ryou: You hit it on the wrong sit of the net. A very nice hit, but I'm afraid you need to make it over the net and onto this side.  
  
Yami Bakura: Way to get our dignity back Yami…  
  
Yami Yugi: Shut up.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Ryou was hiding something from me. Too much time had gone by without a single thought. I didn't know how he was doing it, but he was. He had to be.  
  
When I tried to assume control and Ryou fought back, I knew he was hiding something big. He knew he couldn't stop me, but he fought anyway. He never fought like this for himself. Someone else had to be involved. Someone he felt I would find reason to harm. This could only mean one thing. Ryou had let someone see the eye.  
  
I managed to force Ryou into his soul room. His body relaxed as the soul transition was made. I looked up to see not one, but two someones. And both Yugis at that. No wonder Ryou had fought. I would have to hurt him bad for this. My first thoughts were that of anger. Then I realize something. There were two Yugis. This meant that one was the dark Yugi in a false form. A vulnerable state. Away from his power. This was a perfect opportunity. If I could kill him now, there would be nothing to stop me from taking the puzzle. I couldn't waste time. I stood. Yami Yugi was already looking at me suspiciously. The smaller one didn't seem to notice the switch at all and still spoke to me as if I were Ryou.  
  
"Bakura, are you OK?" he asked.  
  
"Never better," I said, laughing slightly and looking straight at the small one. A flash of understanding, followed by horror passed over his face. He knew. "Never better," I repeated and lunged for Yami Yugi.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yugi  
  
Bakura pointed a shaking finger to my yami and stammered, "Get b-back to Yugi…Now!"  
  
What was he talking about? Something upset him greatly. Then he relaxed once more. I thought he had blacked out again. His arms fell limp at his sides and his head bowed. I had no clue what was going on. He looked up again, but he seemed…different. He then stood. He looked at Yami and seemed to be contemplating. Yami returned the look with one of his own. Something was not right. "Bakura, are you OK?" I asked.  
  
"Never better," he answered with a laugh. He turned to face me. That look on his face… Then I understood. Bakura's warning, his suddenly relaxing, this strange attitude he had now. This wasn't Bakura. "Never better," he repeated as he dove for my dark side.  
  
At the same second I yelled, "Yami, look out!" Yami's eyes widened and he quickly jumped out of the way. Yami Bakura missed and skidded on the ground and into the locked door. He cursed, but was uninjured. It was strange to hear such words come out of Bakura's mouth. Yami realized the danger he was in while separate from me, and returned. Yugi! he said. I need to take control. This is very serious! I complied and retreated to my soul room, leaving Yami to face Yami Bakura. I could not help but worry about the outcome.  
  
…………………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Stupid! I had been too rash and now I had lost my opportunity. I had carelessly been over-confident and caught up in the moment. I let the small one know what was going on in time to warn his other. If I could have just gotten close enough, I could have stolen Yami Yugi's soul. Away from the power of the puzzle, he could have done nothing to stop me. But I had missed my chance. Yami Yugi was already returning to his host. It would be foolish to approach him now.  
  
Yugi's form underwent the slight changes that showed that his dark side was taking control. I stood and positioned myself at a safe distance, but also one that showed that I was not backing down. Millennium eye or no millennium eye, the showdown between Yami Yugi and myself was going to happen now. I was not going to stall anymore.  
  
Soul transition complete, Yami Yugi glared at me. "We meet again, soul stealer."  
  
"Always a pleasure," I returned with obvious false sincerity.  
  
"Even with two millennium items, you feel that you need use sneak attacks. I guess I should be flattered."  
  
"Don't waste your emotions. Like yourself, I am not one to pass up an opportunity. But then, you have more than enough emotions to afford wasting them. Emotions are what make you weak."  
  
"Only you would see emotions as a weakness. You would be surprised what an asset they can be."  
  
"Do not waste my time with your speeches on the usefulness of friends and feelings. Power is all that matters," I said, growing tired of his preaching.  
  
"Yes, I see you have made a new addition to your 'power'," he said. "Tell me, how much did you enjoy torturing your other? Permanently mutilating him? Making him suffer?"  
  
"I enjoyed it immensely," I said intentionally to anger him, my evilest smirk plastered to my face. "Heartlessness can be an asset, too. It is easy to do just about anything when you feel no remorse. Nothing gets in your way." I could see his anger and disgust building, so I decided to push it further. "It can be quite satisfying too… even 'fun'…"  
  
"Monster," replied Yami Yugi, dripping with hatred.  
  
"You say that like it's a bad thing. Now how long are we going to stand here talking? We have a shadow game to play."  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
"…We have a shadow game to play," the evil Bakura said.  
  
"Fine with me," I returned. The shadow realm materialized around us, leaving the school behind. Now was the time to enforce my plan. I only prayed that it would work.  
  
"Now, how do we settle the little matter of rules and consequences?" Yami Bakura said. He seemed confident. Too confident.  
  
"I ask that we both separate from our hosts," I said. If I could get him to agree to this, Yugi and Bakura would be out of harm's way. The problem was getting him to agree.  
  
"Now why would I do that? Why would I cut myself off from the power of both my millennium items when you would only cut yourself off from one?" he replied with an attitude that seemed to hint that I was being ridiculous.  
  
"You and I both know that you don't know how to use that eye. You would only be cutting yourself off from one as well." He was very angry at this. Apparently, he hadn't known how much Bakura had told me.  
  
"Well, I also know that you don't want to hurt my host, whereas I could care less about hurting yours."  
  
"I will not hesitate to do anything to protect Yugi," I said, truthfully. "I am simply trying to avoid unnecessary suffering."  
  
"And what is in it for me to agree to your terms? What are the rewards?" He knew I would have to offer him something big for him to agree. He was savoring the moment.  
  
"If I win, you remain in the shadow realm, never to bother anyone again," I said.  
  
"And if I win…?" he said, speaking as a serpent would.  
  
"If you win…you get my puzzle." He scoffed at this.  
  
"Your puzzle is already on the line. That is what this is all about. I'm afraid you will have to sweeten the deal if you want me to agree to your terms." I had expected this.  
  
"I am not finished," I said. "As for the game…the rules…the consequences…are all entirely up to you…"  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
*At the badminton game, the yamis are having a difficult time accepting defeat*  
  
Yami Yugi: WE CAN'T LOSE!!!  
  
Jounouchi: Yami, man, the score is 34 to 2. We can't keep going forever. I think we were supposed to stop at 21. Or is that ping-pong?  
  
Yami Bakura: AAAAAAURRRRRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!  
  
Yami Malik: One last serve?  
  
Jounouchi: Oh, all right… Not like it matters.  
  
*Ryou, out of pity, tries to serve them an easy one, but the wind takes it and blows it a bit too far. Yami Bakura runs backward, trying to reach it.*  
  
Yami Bakura: I got it!!! I got it!!!  
  
*he trips and lands on his butt. The birdie lands just behind him.*  
  
Jounouchi: GAME OVER!  
  
Yami Malik: But it was out of bounds.  
  
Jounouchi: He tried for it.  
  
Yami Yugi: But he MISSED!  
  
*Yami Bakura screams. Everyone turns from the argument to look at him. Turns out, he had just discovered that he had landed in a fire ant nest. He was desperately trying to brush them off. Everyone laughs at him*  
  
Yami Yugi: AHAHAHAHAHA! THAT WAS WORTH LOSING FOR!  
  
White Angel: That's what you get for playing in my backyard.  
  
*Postman arrives with a couple packages for White Angel. He gives a strange look to the spectacle, but goes back to work*  
  
White Angel: Ah! Gifts!  
  
*Everyone, including Yami Bakura who is still trying to brush the ants off of him, crowds around*  
  
Yami Bakura: I'm not sure that I want one… The last one wasn't very pleasant.  
  
White Angel: You're the bad guy. What do you expect?  
  
*White Angel opens the first one from Kitsune of Insanity*  
  
White Angel: INDUSTRIAL SIZE PIXI STIXS!!! THANK YOU!!! ^_^  
  
Seto: Oh, great…  
  
Yami Yugi: Can I have some?  
  
Seto: NO!  
  
*White Angel opens the next box from Kobura Doragon. Inside are presents for most. White Angel gets a book called "Writer's Block: The Dos and Don'ts of Getting Rid of the Nasty Buggers." Ryou gets a membership card to Abused by Yamis Anonymous. Malik gets a book called "My Sexy Hair and How to Keep it That Way." All the Yamis get a lifetime supply of millennium item polish*  
  
White Angel: YEA! ^_^ *begins thumbing through her book*  
  
Malik: *looks at his book* Uh…White Angel…?  
  
White Angel: Don't look at me. I just hand 'em out.  
  
Malik: *shrugs and starts looking through his book*  
  
Ryou: Malik, you a member of this? *hold up card*  
  
Malik: My dear Ryou, I'm not just a member. I'm also the president! ^_^  
  
Yami Malik: *gives Malik a dirty look*  
  
Seto: I didn't get anything… *pouts*  
  
White Angel: Awww…poor Seto. *gives him a little hug*  
  
Seto: *blushes and pretends not to care*  
  
Ryou: Hey! I thought I was your favorite… *pouts*  
  
White Angel: You are my favorite Ryou! *gives him a hug, but a bigger one than Seto got*  
  
Ryou: ^_^  
  
Yami Bakura: What about me…? *pouts*  
  
White Angel: YOU can finish brushing the ants off your butt.  
  
Yami Bakura: . *goes to join the other yamis polishing away at their millennium items*  
  
Yami Malik: So shiny! ^__^  
  
White Angel: *Goes back to her book* AH-HA! Rule number one: Never underestimate the cute ones. Time to find Yugi and Mokuba!  
  
R&R please! 


	14. Sudden Death

Same warning as last time. Dark stuff ahead in the main story. You might want to read the side story separately or not at all if you don't want the depressing angsty mood ruined. I would suggest reading it last. If you read it first, you may accidentally read part of the story that will totally ruin it. Especially the last line. Fair Warning!  
  
And this is a LONG chapter. Six pages on Word. And over 3,000 words. And almost all of it is main story. Have your Kleenex boxes ready…this one is a real tear-jerker. Even I cried, and I wrote it.  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
*At the writer's block, White Angel has successfully dragged Yugi and Mokuba over to help her*  
  
Yugi: Why were we the last ones you thought of?  
  
Mokuba: Yeah…  
  
White Angel: Well, somebody had to be last…  
  
Yugi: It's because you thought that if my yami failed, I wouldn't have a chance. Is that it?  
  
Mokuba: And if my brother couldn't, you thought I couldn't, right?  
  
White Angel: No, not at all! I…I just felt that I should give everyone a chance. I thought that if I called you two in earlier, than you would have solved the problem too early, and… and everyone else would feel left out…" *White Angel is a very bad liar. Fortunately, Yugi and Mokuba are very gullible.*  
  
Yugi: Ok then! ^_^  
  
Mokuba: I'll go get my stuff for the block!  
  
*Mokuba runs off*  
  
White Angel: What does he mean by "stuff"?  
  
Yugi: I don't know, but I'm betting that it's going to cost Kiaba a fortune. Anyway, I think I can help you. I've got something that I've been saving for just such an occasion. I just need to go get it. *Yugi leaves*  
  
White Angel:*sighs* I guess this is the part where I say that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I've been skipping that lately, haven't I. Oh, well. I'll just say it really loud to make up for the skipped ones. *grabs a megaphone*  
  
I DON'T OWN YU-GI-OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
What an opportunity! Being able to set all the rules and consequences for a dark game was an unbelievable advantage. I could plan the whole thing around Yami Yugi's weaknesses. Besides, I thought I had found a flaw in his little plan…  
  
"So your terms are that we separate from our hosts, and I stay in the shadow realm if you win? And in exchange, you're letting me choose the game and the rules and consequences, as well as offering up your puzzle if I win? Is this correct?"  
  
"Yes," he replied. "These are the terms I agree to." I had him!  
  
"Very well. Agreed. These will be the conditions of our game." We shook hands, sealing the terms. Now I had to think of what would be in my favor for the game. Yami Yugi was a strategist. One of the best. So whatever I chose should have nothing to do with strategy. It couldn't be physical, seeing as neither of us was good at that, so I didn't know whose favor that would be in. The game should be a matter of luck. That way, at least there would be no real advantage on either side. Besides, I had a plan…  
  
"The game shall be a game of chance," I told the dark Yugi. "We will each use our Duel Monsters deck. We will shuffle and draw, playing one on one against the opponent's card. The monster with higher attack points wins. Magic cards automatically lose. Trap cards automatically win. If it is a tie, then the match is void. Each card, win or lose, is used once and then discarded and a new one is drawn. Lose ten matches and you lose the game entirely, and your opponent claims victory."  
  
Yami Yugi nodded. "Fine. Now to prepare. Separate from your other."  
  
I smirked back at him. "Of course…" After all, they were part of my plan.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
Yami Bakura was up to something. He was being sneaky. But I didn't know what it was. He had chosen a game of chance as our shadow game. He was playing against my strategic abilities by making them obsolete. But there was something else. He had yet to mention the game's consequences.  
  
We both separated from our others. Yugi and Bakura seemed equally confused. I briefed them on the goings on, telling them about the game and the stakes. They understood and started to back off. Yami Bakura motioned them to stop.  
  
"What is it?" I questioned.  
  
"Just wait," he said. "Let me finish setting up the game." The shadow realm produced a surface for us to play on. Seeing as neither of us had much power, and this was a condition of the game, the shadow realm would enforce the rules. The shadow realm was created for the sole purpose of housing the dark games, and it had the power necessary to be an unbiased enforcer of the conditions.  
  
Yami Bakura and I positioned ourselves at the game, each producing a deck. "Now," he said smirking, "the consequences." He glanced at Yugi and Bakura. "I think an energy cage would do nicely. But, seeing as we must play the game, we will need stand-ins."  
  
The shadow realm then produced the energy boxes, one around Bakura and one around Yugi. "B-but the conditions of the game…" I stammered.  
  
"…mentioned nothing about not involving them at all," he completed. "You only said that we would not play the game in their bodies."  
  
"You dirty, underhanded cheater!" I said, shaking with rage.  
  
"The shadow realm does not allow cheating. It would not enforce my rules if they went against the terms. This is entirely by what you said."  
  
I had messed up. I had given up a lot to spare Yugi and Bakura the dangers of the shadow game, and now it was for nothing because the soul stealer had found a way around it. I had never been this angry with myself. Yami Bakura laughed at my predicament. "You have seriously slipped up," he said with relish. "All that for nothing. The energy cage that holds your other will shrink with every match you lose. Touching the walls of the cage would result in a very painful, not to mention fatal, shock. At the tenth loss, and so the loss of the game, the cage that holds the host of the loser will shrink to nothing from all sides, passing over the body of unfortunate individual, and killing him. Lose the game, and your precious Yugi loses his life. But then, of course, if you manage to beat me, it will be Ryou to suffer instead."  
  
How could I have let this happen? I had allowed this dark spirit to manipulate me. He had intentionally led me into this, by twisting words around and now there was no way around it. One of the hosts would die…  
  
……………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yugi  
  
I had never seen Yami so upset. He wasn't used to failing. The one thing he was trying to do was keep me and Bakura out of this match, and he had been unable. It troubled him greatly. Judging from the look on his face, this duel was not going to have a pretty outcome, no matter who won.  
  
The energy cage around me crackled with what seemed to be electricity. It surrounded me completely, about ten feet in every direction, but I could see through it. Bakura had one just like mine around him. He seemed to feel very guilty. He thought this was all his fault. I wished that I could tell him that it wasn't, but he wouldn't be able to hear me with the noise the cage was making. I myself couldn't even hear what was being said by Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura. How dangerous was this cage? I picked a pebble out of the bottom of my shoe and through it at the wall. Sparks shot from where it hit and the rock flew back and landed on the ground next to me. It didn't seem to be burnt, but a rock shouldn't have been affected by electricity anyway, should it? That had been some strange reaction. I had never seen anything like it.  
  
Yugi! came the voice of Yami Yugi. Even thought he was separate from me, there was still a mind link. Don't touch those walls! That is magical energy! Touching it is fatal!  
  
Then…this duel isn't going to end well, is it?  
  
I'm afraid not Yugi, was his reply. I cannot protect both of you.  
  
You can't just give up, Yami! I said desperately. You can't just let one us die.  
  
My first loyalty is to you, Yugi. If I cannot spare Bakura, I will not sacrifice you for him. I am sorry. I will do what I can, but I do not see a way out of this. He closed off the link. This couldn't be happening. Was there really no way out?  
  
…………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
The game was to start. Yami Yugi was obviously troubled by his failure to protect the innocent. That was my goal all along. Even in a game of luck, the participants must be able to keep their wits. Yami Yugi was already shaken up and the game had not even started.  
  
"Are you not going to warn your other," he asked.  
  
"No, I don't think so. He can figure it out on his own." He narrowed his eyes at me but said no more. We shuffled our decks and placed them in front of us.  
  
"Now, we begin!" I said.  
  
I turned my first card to reveal a morphing jar. Not an especially strong one. Since we didn't have magic ourselves, the cards did not come to life. It was not important to the duel, so the shadow realm didn't bring them to life either. Yami Yugi turned his card to reveal Multiply, a magic card.  
  
"Oh, tough luck. An automatic loss," I said, smiling. He turned to watch in horror as the energy cage shrank around Yugi, the small boy backing away from the walls and into the center. He saw his yami watching and tried not to seem scared, but he wasn't hiding it well.  
  
This game was going to get interesting…  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Ryou  
  
This was all my fault. This whole mess. It was because of me. I watched as the energy cages closed in around me and Yugi, growing smaller as the shadow game between my yami and Yugi's continued. Yugi's was noticeably smaller than mine. Yami Yugi was losing. I looked in their direction and caught Yami Yugi looking at me. He WAS holding out because of me… He was torn between the thought of killing me and the thought of allowing Yugi to perish. The look of torment in his face, so like the face of Yugi, was genuine. I saw Yugi's little experiment with the cage wall. I knew what the shrinking cages meant. If my dark side won this duel, I would never be able to live with myself, knowing that someone else had died so that I could live. I was preventing Yami Yugi from going all out. I had to put a stop to this…  
  
I would have to do it now, for I may not have been able to find the courage again. I backed up to one side of the cage, preparing for a running start. I took a final look around. Yami Bakura was too involved with his current lead in the game to pay attention to me, but Yami Yugi and Yugi noticed my movement and both yelled at me. I could not hear them. With the attention drawn to me, Yami Bakura looked in my direction, too. He yelled as well, but he yelled in rage. I was ruining his plans, but I didn't care. I hoped that what I was preparing to do would help. I began running, fast enough so that I would not be able to back out, straight towards the opposite cage wall…  
  
………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
The consequences of both winning and losing this duel were plaguing my thoughts. I couldn't focus. Even when I shadow game is based on luck, you need to keep your wits about you, and I was failing miserably. I looked towards Yugi and then towards Bakura, who returned my gaze. I returned to the game. I had four losses left. Yami Bakura had seven.  
  
When next I looked up after another loss (I now had three left), I saw Bakura backing up to the wall behind him. He looked around like it would be the last time. What was he doing? I saw him bunch up, as if preparing to run. But where would he run? The cage prevented him from going any where. What…? And then I realized. He was going to run straight into the energy wall! That was suicide!  
  
"BAKURA, NO!" I screamed, but it was too late. He charged head-first towards his death.  
  
…………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
I looked up to see the fool preparing to run. He was trying to ruin the advantage I had over Yami Yugi by ending his life now so that Yami Yugi wouldn't have to do it for him. "STOP IT YOU FOOL!" I called, but it was useless. He could not hear me and there was no stopping him. The look of contempt he had on his face as he looked at me moments before starting into his run told me that he was doing this to spite me every bit as much as he was doing it to help Yami Yugi. So, perhaps he wasn't so weak after all…but a wasted life is a wasted life. Shame. He might have been of further use. Well, if I won, it would be no problem. With three millennium items, I would have more than enough power to remain in a false form permanently. Seeing as the puzzle would be mine, Yami Yugi wouldn't be a threat. I could get by very well without Ryou. I would simply claim the items from his body, and live very contentedly as I search for the rest. Let him die. I didn't need him…  
  
……………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Bakura  
  
The pain of the impact was tremendous. It sent a wave of energy through my body that threw me onto my back, unable to move. It surprisingly did not burn. It was a different pain. It seemed to go all the way from my skin to inside my bones. I hurt throughout, but it would not last long. I could feel my body systems shutting down. The pain was slowly easing. My struggled breathing slowed and relaxed. I was dying.  
  
I saw Yugi through my half open eye. He looked so sorry for me. Don't be sorry, my friend, I thought. I have helped cause enough suffering, now maybe, in dying, I can help someone live. I was tired of being a pawn in this game of millennium chess. I didn't want to continue. I was tired of everything.  
  
I vaguely wondered what would become of the others. What were they thinking now? I felt the warm glow on my face, one of the last things I remember. For the first time, the eye told me only what I wanted to know. I heard the simultaneous thoughts of Yugi and Yami Yugi.  
  
{Farewell, Bakura…}  
  
I closed my real eye. Finally, I could sleep…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
Yugi  
  
"BAKURA, DON'T!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, hoping to reach him before he did something rash. He either didn't hear me, or didn't listen, because he took off running towards the opposite wall. He impacted in a shower of sparks. If he screamed, I didn't hear it. He was blown backwards and landed on his back in the center of his cage. He remained flat on the floor, struggling for breath. His eye was half open. I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn't get close. There is nothing we can do… Yami said. We can only say our good-bys Farewell, Bakura, I thought, knowing Yami was doing the same thing. The millennium eye glowed faintly. At least he would suffer no more. I watched as Bakura's eye closed and his breathing slowed and then stopped.  
  
Bakura was dead…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
WHAAAAAAAA! What a sad ending to the chapter! *ducks as all the Ryou fans throw stuff at her* RELAX! The story's not over! Wait before you kill me, or worse, flame me!  
  
Awwwww… after that chapter, I don't really want to get into the humor. You people were right. It does ruin the mood. I can see why I needed to put the mood ruiner warning. But I promised Mokuba, so…  
  
…………………………………………………………….  
  
*At the writer's block, Mokuba drives up with a fleet of heavy machinery*  
  
Mokuba: Complements of Big Brother's Platinum card! ^_^  
  
*Yugi comes running*  
  
Yugi: Mokuba! That's not necessary!  
  
Mokuba: Awww…  
  
White Angel: What do you have that's better than his big, destructive machines?  
  
Yugi: This! *Pulls out a small, black box. Inside is a tiny, silver hammer with a string tied around it. At the end of the string is a card that says "inspiration"*  
  
White Angel: What is THAT?!  
  
Yugi: This is the "Hammer of Inspiration" ^_^  
  
White Angel: And how is that little thing going to help?  
  
Yugi: SOMETHING WRONG WITH LITTLE THINGS!!!  
  
White Angle: No! Not at all! Just wondering is all.  
  
Yugi: Like this! *goes over to the writer's block and taps it with the "Hammer of Inspiration." To White Angel's amazement, the block collapses into a pile of dust*  
  
White Angel: YEA!!! IT'S DEAD!!! YUGI, I LOVE YOU!!!!*Picks Yugi up and starts dancing around with him, chanting "The writer's block is dead."  
  
Yugi: Please…put me down.  
  
White Angel: This calls for a celebration! There is one chapter left and the writer's block is no more. I think I should use this opportunity to host an after-party. Although I guess you would call it a during party, cuz it will be during the last chapter.  
  
Mokuba: Yea! Party! ^_^  
  
White Angle: Yep! And everyone who was there for the writer's block fiasco will be invited. Fair warning, readers! Last chapter next! And the after- party (or during ^_^) at my house! The finale is coming up, so check for new posts and as always R&R! 


	15. End Game

*Looks at the Bakura kitty pic in her review box* Hehehe! CUTIE! Oh, what? The fic! Oh, right! Last Chapter!!!  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
*It's party time! The fic is coming to an end and White Angel's writer's block has been destroyed. The whole gang is celebrating at White Angel's place*  
  
Yami Bakura: Let's get this party started!  
  
Mokuba: Where's the sugar?  
  
White Angel: Hey this is MY house! There is no way in hell that I am going to provide sugar to you people.  
  
Yami Yugi: Awwwww…  
  
Malik: Let's have some fun, dance or something. *digs through White Angel's CDs* Hey! Let's do the Time Warp!  
  
White Angel: Noooo… I don't think so. I don't think my self-esteem can take it.  
  
Yami Malik: Yeah, are you nuts?  
  
Malik: You should talk…*muttering to himself* No sugar, no dancing, no watching everyone humiliate themselves…what kind of party is this? *stumbles upon White Angels industrial size pixi stixs which were on top an UNLOCKED liquor cabinet * Hmmm… Pixi Stixs, plus alcohol, plus White Angel's "sugar-free" punch equals...*evil smile* one hell of a party!  
  
*5 minutes later*  
  
Malik: Hey! Have you guy's tried the punch…  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Yami Yugi  
  
Bakura's sacrifice eliminated the only thing that was holding me back. That one selfless act would change the tides of this game.  
  
"What is that you were saying about emotions being useless?" I told the soul stealer. "What you just saw was an action of emotions, and it will bring about your downfall!"  
  
"I don't see what you are so high and mighty about," he replied. "This does not change the game at all. The fool wasted his life. That is all. Once I have your puzzle, it will not even matter…"  
  
That wasn't going to happen. What Bakura had done to help us had inspired me. I had a new fire burning inside. Bakura's suffering would be avenged. I would see to that…  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Ryou  
  
I discovered myself in a strange place. Every direction stretched out into oblivion, seeming to have no end. The sky was black and starless. A grey mist floated over the ground so that I couldn't see what I was standing on. In fact, I couldn't feel what I was standing on. A wind swirled the mist around and I could not feel that either. I touched my hand, my chest, my face. I felt none of this. I looked at myself. I seemed to be whole, but it was strange. Where was I?  
  
A booming, echoing voice answered my unspoken question. "YOU ARE ON THE PLAIN BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH."  
  
"Why can't I feel anything?" I asked the faceless voice.  
  
"A BODY IS REQUIRED FOR MANY OF THE SENSES. YOU HAVE NONE."  
  
"Then why can I see?"  
  
The voice answered me with patience that I had never been shown before. THE EYES ARE THE WINDOW TO THE SOUL, SO AS A SOUL, THEY CAN STILL BE USED. WHETHER THEY WERE WHOLE IN LIFE, OR NOT.  
  
At his mention of this, I realized that my vision was complete. On instinct, I reached up to feel if the millennium eye was there. Then I remember, no feeling. I felt like an idiot. I guessed that it didn't really matter.  
  
"What happens to me now?" I asked the voice.  
  
"WAIT…"  
  
Well, if this was death, it wasn't so bad. I was in no pain. I was at peace.  
  
…………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yami Bakura  
  
Yami Yugi was making an amazing comeback. He had found a new passion, and it was quite alarming. The game had come down to one final match. Yugi was cowering in the center of his cage and Ryou's body was mere inches away from touching the walls. Not that it mattered in his case…  
  
This was my last chance, but I refused to give Yami Yugi the satisfaction of knowing he had rattled me, so I continued with my attitude. "Quite a comeback, Yami Yugi…" I said. "Too bad I'm going to win anyway."  
  
"Talk all you want. Evil like you cannot win."  
  
"What do you think this is, a fairy tale? Don't be stupid." He was back to his preachings again.  
  
"Enough talk," he said. He drew his card and played it. I held my breath, waiting to see what this card would reveal. It was…a Karibo! Hah! He had pulled the most pathetic card in his deck. The game was mine.  
  
"I don't even need to draw. Anything could beat that. It's a shame that a gamer of your status would lose with such a pathetic card."  
  
"Please…humor me. Play the game."  
  
"As you wish…"  
  
I gave him one last smirk and pulled my card and played it. It was…The Change of Heart! A magic card!  
  
"Hmmm…" Yami Yugi said with a smile. "An automatic loss, by your own rules. Ironic that it is Bakura's favorite card that brought you down. One last bit of help from our friend…"  
  
"NO! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE! I CANNOT LOSE!" I screamed, enraged. The cage containing Ryou quickly shrank, sending its shock waves through his body and causing it to spasm before returning to its motionless state. I was beginning to fade away as the shadow realm began claiming me. I was fading out, my body becoming as a mist and being blown away as the shadow realm pulled me deeper in. I turned back to Yami Yugi.  
  
"KNOW THIS, YAMI!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, my final promise to him. "HEAR MY WORDS! EVEN THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT ONLY TEMPORARALY HIDES THE DARKNESS! THE DARK IS ALWAYS THERE, WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENVELOPE EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH! TO CONSUME ALL! THIS IS THE SAME! I WILL BE BACK! YOU CANNOT HIDE ME FOREVER! DARKNESS IS ETERNAL, AND I AM THE DARKNESS!  
  
…………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Ryou  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of nothingness, the voice returned and spoke to me again.  
  
"YOUR TIME IS NOT NOW…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"YOU MUST RETURN…"  
  
The next thing I knew I was falling. I took a painful breath. Pain? Breath? I was back. I was alive. But why…?  
  
Each breath was like my lungs were on fire, but with each new breath, the pain dulled slightly. The rest of my body was numb, but feeling was returning. My struggled breathing resulted in a fit of coughing, but I was not yet strong enough to react to it. Someone rolled me onto my side. I tried to look and see who it was, but I could not lift my head. I opened my eye, revealing that my vision was blurred and once again, I only had vision in one eye. I continued to cough.  
  
When I was able to relax again, the person rolled me back onto my back. Then he spoke and my muddy hearing could just make out the voice of Yugi. "You'll be okay now…It's over"  
  
My senses were returning to me. Was what Yugi said true? Was it really over?  
  
………………………………………………………………………………….  
  
Yugi  
  
As Bakura's cage closed around him, mine disappeared. I was free to move. Yami Bakura screamed as his body vanished. It was probably better that I could not make out what he was saying. Besides, I was preoccupied. I ran to Bakura's side, looking for some signs of life. He wasn't moving. He didn't seem to be breathing, and then all of a sudden, he gasped. Oh, my God, he was alive! How?  
  
I didn't worry about it long. After a few harsh breaths, he began to choke. I rolled him onto his side. He relaxed again after a while, and I put him flat again. His eye watered from the coughing. Or maybe he was in pain. I had no way of knowing. But now, I could comfort him. "You'll be okay now," I told him. "It's over…"  
  
Yami Yugi approached, looking equaling baffled at Bakura's being alive. "It…It must have been the second shock. The second wave of energy must have restarted his heart. That is the only explanation."  
  
"Yugi…" came the voice of Bakura.  
  
"You feeling alright?" I asked him.  
  
"Is it really over?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," I replied. "It's really over." He smiled, weakly.  
  
"Let's get out of here." said Yami Yugi.  
  
We left the shadow realm behind, and returned to the school. It had been as if no time had passed at all. The assembly was still going on, but we would not be returning to it. It was the last thing of the day, and no one would notice if we left a little early.  
  
Yami was tired and returned to me. Bakura was able to stand, but he had to lean on me. He was not yet stable enough to walk on his own. Grampa's game shop was closer than Bakura's house was, so we went there to gather our wits. Grampa was picking up a shipment, so he wasn't there to question me about being home early. I walked Bakura to the back, where our living areas were. I helped him over to the couch in our living room and he sat down. I offered him a glass of water and he accepted, but when I got back from the kitchen with his drink, he was already asleep.  
  
Let him sleep, Yami said. He is exhausted, and with good reason. He needs the rest. I agreed. He was finally free. Let him celebrate by having the first peaceful rest that he has had in a long time.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
???  
  
The light only masks the darkness. Darkness is ever present, watching, waiting, planning. Darkness is vengeance. Always eager to smother the light which locked it away. No matter how strong the light that hides it is, the darkness eventually returns, stronger than ever. And once the darkness is there, the chances of sending it back are slim, because the darkness grows wiser with each time it is banished. That is why, when I return, there will be absolute hell to pay, for I AM THE DARKNESS…  
  
……………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
All: LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!!!!  
  
*At the party, everyone (save Malik for some strange reason) seems very sugar high and drunk. White Angel's house is in ruins. Malik took advantage of everyone's drunkardness and suggested a little dancing while he has the camera rolling (Malik: The blackmail, oh, the blackmail…Muhahahaha!). He also talked them into dressing up, saying it would make it more fun. If anyone has seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show, they know what I am talking about. He encourages their behavior by helping them sing while they do the dance steps as they are being sung. The music is blaring full blast. Malik, is the only one not dancing*  
  
All: LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!!!!  
  
Malik: It's just a jump to the left.  
  
*all jump to the left except drunk Seto and Yami Bakura who jump the wrong way and then quickly regain themselves*  
  
All: AND THEN A STEP TO THE RIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!! *step to the right*  
  
Malik: With your hands on your hips.  
  
*All do so*  
  
All: YOU BRING YOUR KNEES IN TIIIIIIIIIGHT!!! *all bring knees in* WELL, IT'S THE PELVIC THRUUUUUUUUUUST, *all do the pelvic thrust, which is exactly what you think it is. Yami Malik is getting a bit too into it* THAT REALLY DRIVES YOU INSAAAAAAAAAANE!!!!!  
  
LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!!!!!!  
  
LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!!!!!!  
  
*As the music dies down, so does the dancers. After all that dancing, they are quite tired. White Angel, Ryou, and Yugi collapse on the sofa. Seto falls on the chair and Mokuba climbs on his lap. Everyone else finds a place on the floor. After a few minutes, all are asleep or passed out. Malik zooms in with his camera to catch the sleeping people on film. Yami Malik and Yami Bakura were back to back in the middle of the floor, each leaning on the other. Yugi was all curled up on one side of the sofa. One the other side, in her sleep, White Angel was leaning on Ryou ^_~. Mokuba was curled up on Seto and he was sucking his thumb. Seto, that is, not Mokuba, was sucking his thumb. Yami Yugi was snoring quite loudly.*  
  
Malik: Gold! Pure video gold! Kiaba alone would pay a fortune to stop me from showing this to anyone. Hehehehe….  
  
*The next morning…*  
  
Seto: AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  
  
Ryou: Wha?  
  
White Angel: What is it?  
  
*discover they were sleeping on each other and blush. O_O. Seto is staring at a large, blown up poster of himself sucking his thumb. Malik is standing next to it.*  
  
Malik: You know, Kiaba, for the small price of a hundred grand, I'll keep this off of the internet.  
  
Seto: *growls and writes a check* And I want that poster, too!  
  
Malik: Sure, you can have it. But if you want the other posters, and the pins, and the flyers, and such, it will cost you a bit more…  
  
Seto: AAAAARRRRRGGGGG!!!  
  
*Yami Yugi, Yami Bakura, and Yami Malik, who were woken up earlier by Seto's screaming, laugh at him*  
  
Malik: I don't know what you are laughing at. I got dirt on you, too. And I don't know that you have the money to pay me off…  
  
Yamis: WHAT!!!!!!!!!  
  
*By now, everyone is awake and aware of what is going on. Malik got what was coming to him when White Angel and the Yamis jumped him and tied him up. Yami Malik added a gag.  
  
White Angel: Hah! See if you can post anything on the internet now!  
  
Ryou: *taps her on the shoulder* Uh…White Angel. Can I take this out now? *points to the millennium eye*  
  
Yami Bakura: Yeah.*motions to his own* I'd almost forgotten about this thing.  
  
White Angel: Fic's over. Go ahead.  
  
Yami Yugi: What? TAKE IT OUT?!!!  
  
*Ryou and his yami begin to take it out*  
  
Yugi: GROSSSS!  
  
Mokuba: YUCK!  
  
*Ryou and Yami Bakura give them strange looks. Both of them have two, healthy eyes.*  
  
Yami Bakura: It's fake, you know.  
  
Ryou: Yeah! White Angel wouldn't really hurt us like that.  
  
White Angel: ^_^  
  
Everyone except White Angel, Ryou, and Yami Bakura: *anime falls*  
  
…………………………………………………………………………………..  
  
WOW! This story is much longer than I ever expected it to be. It was a fun fic, though. I'll have to do another one soon. I have about four more planned. One humor, one parody/humor, and two angst, so keep a look out and as always, R&R!!!  
  
This is White Angel, signing off! Hope you enjoyed the fic!!! ^_~ 


End file.
